Abstract Syntax: Substitution and Binders

AbstractWe summarise Fiore et al's paper on variable substitution and binding, then axiomatise it. Generalising their use of the category F of finite sets to model untyped cartesian contexts, we let S be an arbitrary pseudo-monad on Cat and consider (S1)op: this generality includes linear contexts, affine contexts, and contexts for the Logic of Bunched Implications. Given a pseudo-distributive law of S over the (partial) pseudo-monad Tcoc−=[(−)op,Set] for free cocompletions, one can define a canonical substitution monoidal structure on the category [(S1)op,Set], generalising Fiore et al's substitution monoidal structure for cartesian contexts: this provides a natural substitution structure for the above examples. We give a concrete description of this substitution monoidal structure in full generality. We then give an axiomatic definition of a binding signature, then state and prove an initial algebra semantics theorem for binding signatures in full generality, once again extending the definitions and theorem of Fiore et al. A delicate extension of the research includes the category Pb(Injop,Set) studied by Gabbay and Pitts in their quite different analysis of binders, which we compare and contrast with that of Fiore et al

Formalising the pi-calculus using nominal logic

We formalise the pi-calculus using the nominal datatype package, based on ideas from the nominal logic by Pitts et al., and demonstrate an implementation in Isabelle/HOL. The purpose is to derive powerful induction rules for the semantics in order to conduct machine checkable proofs, closely following the intuitive arguments found in manual proofs. In this way we have covered many of the standard theorems of bisimulation equivalence and congruence, both late and early, and both strong and weak in a uniform manner. We thus provide one of the most extensive formalisations of a process calculus ever done inside a theorem prover. A significant gain in our formulation is that agents are identified up to alpha-equivalence, thereby greatly reducing the arguments about bound names. This is a normal strategy for manual proofs about the pi-calculus, but that kind of hand waving has previously been difficult to incorporate smoothly in an interactive theorem prover. We show how the nominal logic formalism and its support in Isabelle accomplishes this and thus significantly reduces the tedium of conducting completely formal proofs. This improves on previous work using weak higher order abstract syntax since we do not need extra assumptions to filter out exotic terms and can keep all arguments within a familiar first-order logic.Comment: 36 pages, 3 figure

A recursion combinator for nominal datatypes implemented in Isabelle/HOL

The nominal datatype package implements an infrastructure in Isabelle/HOL for defining languages involving binders and for reasoning conveniently about alpha-equivalence classes. Pitts stated some general conditions under which functions over alpha-equivalence classes can be defined by a form of structural recursion and gave a clever proof for the existence of a primitive-recursion combinator. We give a version of this proof that works directly over nominal datatypes and does not rely upon auxiliary constructions. We further introduce proving tools and a heuristic that made the automation of our proof tractable. This automation is an essential prerequisite for the nominal datatype package to become useful

Nominal Equational Logic

AbstractThis paper studies the notion of “freshness” that often occurs in the meta-theory of computer science languages involving various kinds of names. Nominal Equational Logic is an extension of ordinary equational logic with assertions about the freshness of names. It is shown to be both sound and complete for the support interpretation of freshness and equality provided by the Gabbay-Pitts nominal sets model of names, binding and α-conversion