A logic for parametric polymorphism with effects

Abstract. We present a logic for reasoning about parametric polymorphism in combination with arbitrary computational effects (nondeterminism, exceptions, continuations, side-effects etc.). As examples of reasoning in the logic, we show how to verify correctness of polymorphic type encodings in the presence of effects.

Relational Parametricity for Computational Effects

According to Strachey, a polymorphic program is parametric if it applies a uniform algorithm independently of the type instantiations at which it is applied. The notion of relational parametricity, introduced by Reynolds, is one possible mathematical formulation of this idea. Relational parametricity provides a powerful tool for establishing data abstraction properties, proving equivalences of datatypes, and establishing equalities of programs. Such properties have been well studied in a pure functional setting. Many programs, however, exhibit computational effects, and are not accounted for by the standard theory of relational parametricity. In this paper, we develop a foundational framework for extending the notion of relational parametricity to programming languages with effects.Comment: 31 pages, appears in Logical Methods in Computer Scienc

The enriched effect calculus: syntax and semantics

This paper introduces the enriched effect calculus, which extends established type theories for computational effects with primitives from linear logic. The new calculus provides a formalism for expressing linear aspects of computational effects; for example, the linear usage of imperative features such as state and/or continuations. The enriched effect calculus is implemented as an extension of a basic effect calculus without linear primitives, which is closely related to Moggi’s computational metalanguage, Filinski’s effect PCF and Levy’s call-by-push-value. We present syntactic results showing: the fidelity of the behaviour of the linear connectives of the enriched effect calculus; the conservativity of the enriched effect calculus over its non-linear core (the effect calculus); and the non-conservativity of intuitionistic linear logic when considered as an extension of the enriched effect calculus. The second half of the paper investigates models for the enriched effect calculus, based on enriched category theory. We give several examples of such models, relating them to models of standard effect calculi (such as those based on monads), and to models of intuitionistic linear logic. We also prove soundness and completeness.