Notes on Structure-Preserving Transformations of Conditional Term Rewrite Systems

Transforming conditional term rewrite systems (CTRSs) into unconditional systems (TRSs) is a common approach to analyze properties of CTRSs via the simpler framework of unconditional rewriting. In the past many different transformations have been introduced for this purpose. One class of transformations, so-called unravelings, have been analyzed extensively in the past. In this paper we provide an overview on another class of transformations that we call structure-preserving transformations. In these transformations the structure of the conditional rule, in particular their left-hand side is preserved in contrast to unravelings. We provide an overview of transformations of this type and define a new transformation that improves previous approaches

Confluence of Conditional Rewriting in Logic Form

We characterize conditional rewriting as satisfiability in a Herbrand-like model of terms where variables are also included as fresh constant symbols extending the original signature. Confluence of conditional rewriting and joinability of conditional critical pairs is characterized similarly. Joinability of critical pairs is then translated into combinations of (in)feasibility problems which can be efficiently handled by a number of automatic tools. This permits a more efficient use of standard results for proving confluence of conditional term rewriting systems, most of them relying on auxiliary proofs of joinability of conditional critical pairs, perhaps with additional syntactical and (operational) termination requirements on the system. Our approach has been implemented in a new system: CONFident . Its ability to (dis)prove confluence of conditional term rewriting systems is witnessed by means of some benchmarks comparing our tool with existing tools for similar purposes

Equational logic and rewriting

International audienceIn this survey, we do not address higher order logics nor type theory, but rather restrict to first-order concepts. We focus on equational logic and its relation to rewriting logic and we consider their impact on automated deduction and programming languages

Confluence of Conditional Term Rewrite Systems via Transformations

Conditional term rewriting is an intuitive yet complex extension of term rewriting. In order to benefit from the simpler framework of unconditional rewriting, transformations have been defined to eliminate the conditions of conditional term rewrite systems. Recent results provide confluence criteria for conditional term rewrite systems via transformations, yet they are restricted to CTRSs with certain syntactic properties like weak left-linearity. These syntactic properties imply that the transformations are sound for the given CTRS. This paper shows how to use transformations to prove confluence of operationally terminating, right-stable deterministic conditional term rewrite systems without the necessity of soundness restrictions. For this purpose, it is shown that certain rewrite strategies, in particular almost U-eagerness and innermost rewriting, always imply soundness

Equational rules for rewriting logic

AbstractIn addition to equations and rules, we introduce equational rules that are oriented while having an equational interpretation. Correspondence between operational behavior and intended semantics is guaranteed by a property of coherence, which can be checked by examination of critical pairs and linearity conditions. We present applications of this theory to three examples where the rewrite relation is interpreted, respectively, as equality, transition and deduction

A Type System for Tom

Extending a given language with new dedicated features is a general and quite used approach to make the programming language more adapted to problems. Being closer to the application, this leads to less programming flaws and easier maintenance. But of course one would still like to perform program analysis on these kinds of extended languages, in particular type checking and inference. In this case one has to make the typing of the extended features compatible with the ones in the starting language. The Tom programming language is a typical example of such a situation as it consists of an extension of Java that adds pattern matching, more particularly associative pattern matching, and reduction strategies. This paper presents a type system with subtyping for Tom, that is compatible with Java's type system, and that performs both type checking and type inference. We propose an algorithm that checks if all patterns of a Tom program are well-typed. In addition, we propose an algorithm based on equality and subtyping constraints that infers types of variables occurring in a pattern. Both algorithms are exemplified and the proposed type system is showed to be sound and complete

Proceedings of Sixth International Workshop on Unification

Swiss National Science Foundation; Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and Research; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SFB 314); Christ Church, Oxford; Oxford University Computing Laborator

Revisiting Language Support for Generic Programming: When Genericity Is a Core Design Goal

Context Generic programming, as defined by Stepanov, is a methodology for writing efficient and reusable algorithms by considering only the required properties of their underlying data types and operations. Generic programming has proven to be an effective means of constructing libraries of reusable software components in languages that support it. Generics-related language design choices play a major role in how conducive generic programming is in practice. Inquiry Several mainstream programming languages (e.g. Java and C++) were first created without generics; features to support generic programming were added later, gradually. Much of the existing literature on supporting generic programming focuses thus on retrofitting generic programming into existing languages and identifying related implementation challenges. Is the programming experience significantly better, or different when programming with a language designed for generic programming without limitations from prior language design choices? Approach We examine Magnolia, a language designed to embody generic programming. Magnolia is representative of an approach to language design rooted in algebraic specifications. We repeat a well-known experiment, where we put Magnolia’s generic programming facilities under scrutiny by implementing a subset of the Boost Graph Library, and reflect on our development experience. Knowledge We discover that the idioms identified as key features for supporting Stepanov-style generic programming in the previous studies and work on the topic do not tell a full story. We clarify which of them are more of a means to an end, rather than fundamental features for supporting generic programming. Based on the development experience with Magnolia, we identify variadics as an additional key feature for generic programming and point out limitations and challenges of genericity by property. Grounding Our work uses a well-known framework for evaluating the generic programming facilities of a language from the literature to evaluate the algebraic approach through Magnolia, and we draw comparisons with well-known programming languages. Importance This work gives a fresh perspective on generic programming, and clarifies what are fundamental language properties and their trade-offs when considering supporting Stepanov-style generic programming. The understanding of how to set the ground for generic programming will inform future language design.publishedVersio