3,722 research outputs found
Second-Order Algebraic Theories
Fiore and Hur recently introduced a conservative extension of universal
algebra and equational logic from first to second order. Second-order universal
algebra and second-order equational logic respectively provide a model theory
and a formal deductive system for languages with variable binding and
parameterised metavariables. This work completes the foundations of the subject
from the viewpoint of categorical algebra. Specifically, the paper introduces
the notion of second-order algebraic theory and develops its basic theory. Two
categorical equivalences are established: at the syntactic level, that of
second-order equational presentations and second-order algebraic theories; at
the semantic level, that of second-order algebras and second-order functorial
models. Our development includes a mathematical definition of syntactic
translation between second-order equational presentations. This gives the first
formalisation of notions such as encodings and transforms in the context of
languages with variable binding
Facilitating modular property-preserving extensions of programming languages
We will explore an approach to modular programming language descriptions and extensions in a denotational style.
Based on a language core, language features are added stepwise on the core. Language features can be described
separated from each other in a self-contained, orthogonal way. We present an extension semantics framework consisting
of mechanisms to adapt semantics of a basic language to new structural requirements in an extended language
preserving the behaviour of programs of the basic language. Common templates of extension are provided. These
can be collected in extension libraries accessible to and extendible by language designers. Mechanisms to extend
these libraries are provided. A notation for describing language features embedding these semantics extensions is
presented
The Structure of First-Order Causality
Game semantics describe the interactive behavior of proofs by interpreting
formulas as games on which proofs induce strategies. Such a semantics is
introduced here for capturing dependencies induced by quantifications in
first-order propositional logic. One of the main difficulties that has to be
faced during the elaboration of this kind of semantics is to characterize
definable strategies, that is strategies which actually behave like a proof.
This is usually done by restricting the model to strategies satisfying subtle
combinatorial conditions, whose preservation under composition is often
difficult to show. Here, we present an original methodology to achieve this
task, which requires to combine advanced tools from game semantics, rewriting
theory and categorical algebra. We introduce a diagrammatic presentation of the
monoidal category of definable strategies of our model, by the means of
generators and relations: those strategies can be generated from a finite set
of atomic strategies and the equality between strategies admits a finite
axiomatization, this equational structure corresponding to a polarized
variation of the notion of bialgebra. This work thus bridges algebra and
denotational semantics in order to reveal the structure of dependencies induced
by first-order quantifiers, and lays the foundations for a mechanized analysis
of causality in programming languages
Global semantic typing for inductive and coinductive computing
Inductive and coinductive types are commonly construed as ontological
(Church-style) types, denoting canonical data-sets such as natural numbers,
lists, and streams. For various purposes, notably the study of programs in the
context of global semantics, it is preferable to think of types as semantical
properties (Curry-style). Intrinsic theories were introduced in the late 1990s
to provide a purely logical framework for reasoning about programs and their
semantic types. We extend them here to data given by any combination of
inductive and coinductive definitions. This approach is of interest because it
fits tightly with syntactic, semantic, and proof theoretic fundamentals of
formal logic, with potential applications in implicit computational complexity
as well as extraction of programs from proofs. We prove a Canonicity Theorem,
showing that the global definition of program typing, via the usual (Tarskian)
semantics of first-order logic, agrees with their operational semantics in the
intended model. Finally, we show that every intrinsic theory is interpretable
in a conservative extension of first-order arithmetic. This means that
quantification over infinite data objects does not lead, on its own, to
proof-theoretic strength beyond that of Peano Arithmetic. Intrinsic theories
are perfectly amenable to formulas-as-types Curry-Howard morphisms, and were
used to characterize major computational complexity classes Their extensions
described here have similar potential which has already been applied
A general conservative extension theorem in process algebras with inequalities
We prove a general conservative extension theorem for transition system based process theories with easy-to-check and reasonable conditions. The core of this result is another general theorem which gives sufficient conditions for a system of operational rules and an extension of it in order to ensure conservativity, that is, provable transitions from an original term in the extension are the same as in the original system. As a simple corollary of the conservative extension theorem we prove a completeness theorem. We also prove a general theorem giving sufficient conditions to reduce the question of ground confluence modulo some equations for a large term rewriting system associated with an equational process theory to a small term rewriting system under the condition that the large system is a conservative extension of the small one. We provide many applications to show that our results are useful. The applications include (but are not limited to) various real and discrete time settings in ACP, ATP, and CCS and the notions projection, renaming, stage operator, priority, recursion, the silent step, autonomous actions, the empty process, divergence, etc
Adjunctions for exceptions
An algebraic method is used to study the semantics of exceptions in computer
languages. The exceptions form a computational effect, in the sense that there
is an apparent mismatch between the syntax of exceptions and their intended
semantics. We solve this apparent contradiction by efining a logic for
exceptions with a proof system which is close to their syntax and where their
intended semantics can be seen as a model. This requires a robust framework for
logics and their morphisms, which is provided by categorical tools relying on
adjunctions, fractions and limit sketches.Comment: In this Version 2, minor improvements are made to Version
States and exceptions considered as dual effects
In this paper we consider the two major computational effects of states and
exceptions, from the point of view of diagrammatic logics. We get a surprising
result: there exists a symmetry between these two effects, based on the
well-known categorical duality between products and coproducts. More precisely,
the lookup and update operations for states are respectively dual to the throw
and catch operations for exceptions. This symmetry is deeply hidden in the
programming languages; in order to unveil it, we start from the monoidal
equational logic and we add progressively the logical features which are
necessary for dealing with either effect. This approach gives rise to a new
point of view on states and exceptions, which bypasses the problems due to the
non-algebraicity of handling exceptions
Initial Algebra Semantics for Cyclic Sharing Tree Structures
Terms are a concise representation of tree structures. Since they can be
naturally defined by an inductive type, they offer data structures in
functional programming and mechanised reasoning with useful principles such as
structural induction and structural recursion. However, for graphs or
"tree-like" structures - trees involving cycles and sharing - it remains
unclear what kind of inductive structures exists and how we can faithfully
assign a term representation of them. In this paper we propose a simple term
syntax for cyclic sharing structures that admits structural induction and
recursion principles. We show that the obtained syntax is directly usable in
the functional language Haskell and the proof assistant Agda, as well as
ordinary data structures such as lists and trees. To achieve this goal, we use
a categorical approach to initial algebra semantics in a presheaf category.
That approach follows the line of Fiore, Plotkin and Turi's models of abstract
syntax with variable binding
Maude: specification and programming in rewriting logic
Maude is a high-level language and a high-performance system supporting executable specification and declarative programming in rewriting logic. Since rewriting logic contains equational logic, Maude also supports equational specification and programming in its sublanguage of functional modules and theories. The underlying equational logic chosen for Maude is membership equational logic, that has sorts, subsorts, operator overloading, and partiality definable by membership and equality conditions. Rewriting logic is reflective, in the sense of being able to express its own metalevel at the object level. Reflection is systematically exploited in Maude endowing the language with powerful metaprogramming capabilities, including both user-definable module operations and declarative strategies to guide the deduction process. This paper explains and illustrates with examples the main concepts of Maude's language design, including its underlying logic, functional, system and object-oriented modules, as well as parameterized modules, theories, and views. We also explain how Maude supports reflection, metaprogramming and internal strategies. The paper outlines the principles underlying the Maude system implementation, including its semicompilation techniques. We conclude with some remarks about applications, work on a formal environment for Maude, and a mobile language extension of Maude
- …