Call-by-value non-determinism in a linear logic type discipline

We consider the call-by-value lambda-calculus extended with a may-convergent non-deterministic choice and a must-convergent parallel composition. Inspired by recent works on the relational semantics of linear logic and non-idempotent intersection types, we endow this calculus with a type system based on the so-called Girard's second translation of intuitionistic logic into linear logic. We prove that a term is typable if and only if it is converging, and that its typing tree carries enough information to give a bound on the length of its lazy call-by-value reduction. Moreover, when the typing tree is minimal, such a bound becomes the exact length of the reduction

Non uniform (hyper/multi)coherence spaces

In (hyper)coherence semantics, proofs/terms are cliques in (hyper)graphs. Intuitively, vertices represent results of computations and the edge relation witnesses the ability of being assembled into a same piece of data or a same (strongly) stable function, at arrow types. In (hyper)coherence semantics, the argument of a (strongly) stable functional is always a (strongly) stable function. As a consequence, comparatively to the relational semantics, where there is no edge relation, some vertices are missing. Recovering these vertices is essential for the purpose of reconstructing proofs/terms from their interpretations. It shall also be useful for the comparison with other semantics, like game semantics. In [BE01], Bucciarelli and Ehrhard introduced a so called non uniform coherence space semantics where no vertex is missing. By constructing the co-free exponential we set a new version of this last semantics, together with non uniform versions of hypercoherences and multicoherences, a new semantics where an edge is a finite multiset. Thanks to the co-free construction, these non uniform semantics are deterministic in the sense that the intersection of a clique and of an anti-clique contains at most one vertex, a result of interaction, and extensionally collapse onto the corresponding uniform semantics.Comment: 32 page

A Concurrent Perspective on Smart Contracts

In this paper, we explore remarkable similarities between multi-transactional behaviors of smart contracts in cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and classical problems of shared-memory concurrency. We examine two real-world examples from the Ethereum blockchain and analyzing how they are vulnerable to bugs that are closely reminiscent to those that often occur in traditional concurrent programs. We then elaborate on the relation between observable contract behaviors and well-studied concurrency topics, such as atomicity, interference, synchronization, and resource ownership. The described contracts-as-concurrent-objects analogy provides deeper understanding of potential threats for smart contracts, indicate better engineering practices, and enable applications of existing state-of-the-art formal verification techniques.Comment: 15 page

The probability of non-confluent systems

We show how to provide a structure of probability space to the set of execution traces on a non-confluent abstract rewrite system, by defining a variant of a Lebesgue measure on the space of traces. Then, we show how to use this probability space to transform a non-deterministic calculus into a probabilistic one. We use as example Lambda+, a recently introduced calculus defined through type isomorphisms.Comment: In Proceedings DCM 2013, arXiv:1403.768

Singular and Plural Functions for Functional Logic Programming

Functional logic programming (FLP) languages use non-terminating and non-confluent constructor systems (CS's) as programs in order to define non-strict non-determi-nistic functions. Two semantic alternatives have been usually considered for parameter passing with this kind of functions: call-time choice and run-time choice. While the former is the standard choice of modern FLP languages, the latter lacks some properties---mainly compositionality---that have prevented its use in practical FLP systems. Traditionally it has been considered that call-time choice induces a singular denotational semantics, while run-time choice induces a plural semantics. We have discovered that this latter identification is wrong when pattern matching is involved, and thus we propose two novel compositional plural semantics for CS's that are different from run-time choice. We study the basic properties of our plural semantics---compositionality, polarity, monotonicity for substitutions, and a restricted form of the bubbling property for constructor systems---and the relation between them and to previous proposals, concluding that these semantics form a hierarchy in the sense of set inclusion of the set of computed values. We have also identified a class of programs characterized by a syntactic criterion for which the proposed plural semantics behave the same, and a program transformation that can be used to simulate one of them by term rewriting. At the practical level, we study how to use the expressive capabilities of these semantics for improving the declarative flavour of programs. We also propose a language which combines call-time choice and our plural semantics, that we have implemented in Maude. The resulting interpreter is employed to test several significant examples showing the capabilities of the combined semantics. To appear in Theory and Practice of Logic Programming (TPLP)Comment: 53 pages, 5 figure

Combining Static and Dynamic Contract Checking for Curry

Static type systems are usually not sufficient to express all requirements on function calls. Hence, contracts with pre- and postconditions can be used to express more complex constraints on operations. Contracts can be checked at run time to ensure that operations are only invoked with reasonable arguments and return intended results. Although such dynamic contract checking provides more reliable program execution, it requires execution time and could lead to program crashes that might be detected with more advanced methods at compile time. To improve this situation for declarative languages, we present an approach to combine static and dynamic contract checking for the functional logic language Curry. Based on a formal model of contract checking for functional logic programming, we propose an automatic method to verify contracts at compile time. If a contract is successfully verified, dynamic checking of it can be omitted. This method decreases execution time without degrading reliable program execution. In the best case, when all contracts are statically verified, it provides trust in the software since crashes due to contract violations cannot occur during program execution.Comment: Pre-proceedings paper presented at the 27th International Symposium on Logic-Based Program Synthesis and Transformation (LOPSTR 2017), Namur, Belgium, 10-12 October 2017 (arXiv:1708.07854

An affine-intuitionistic system of types and effects: confluence and termination

We present an affine-intuitionistic system of types and effects which can be regarded as an extension of Barber-Plotkin Dual Intuitionistic Linear Logic to multi-threaded programs with effects. In the system, dynamically generated values such as references or channels are abstracted into a finite set of regions. We introduce a discipline of region usage that entails the confluence (and hence determinacy) of the typable programs. Further, we show that a discipline of region stratification guarantees termination

An affine-intuitionistic system of types and effects: confluence and termination

We present an affine-intuitionistic system of types and effects which can be regarded as an extension of Barber-Plotkin Dual Intuitionistic Linear Logic to multi-threaded programs with effects. In the system, dynamically generated values such as references or channels are abstracted into a finite set of regions. We introduce a discipline of region usage that entails the confluence (and hence determinacy) of the typable programs. Further, we show that a discipline of region stratification guarantees termination