54,441 research outputs found
A dependent nominal type theory
Nominal abstract syntax is an approach to representing names and binding
pioneered by Gabbay and Pitts. So far nominal techniques have mostly been
studied using classical logic or model theory, not type theory. Nominal
extensions to simple, dependent and ML-like polymorphic languages have been
studied, but decidability and normalization results have only been established
for simple nominal type theories. We present a LF-style dependent type theory
extended with name-abstraction types, prove soundness and decidability of
beta-eta-equivalence checking, discuss adequacy and canonical forms via an
example, and discuss extensions such as dependently-typed recursion and
induction principles
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
Multi-level Contextual Type Theory
Contextual type theory distinguishes between bound variables and
meta-variables to write potentially incomplete terms in the presence of
binders. It has found good use as a framework for concise explanations of
higher-order unification, characterize holes in proofs, and in developing a
foundation for programming with higher-order abstract syntax, as embodied by
the programming and reasoning environment Beluga. However, to reason about
these applications, we need to introduce meta^2-variables to characterize the
dependency on meta-variables and bound variables. In other words, we must go
beyond a two-level system granting only bound variables and meta-variables.
In this paper we generalize contextual type theory to n levels for arbitrary
n, so as to obtain a formal system offering bound variables, meta-variables and
so on all the way to meta^n-variables. We obtain a uniform account by
collapsing all these different kinds of variables into a single notion of
variabe indexed by some level k. We give a decidable bi-directional type system
which characterizes beta-eta-normal forms together with a generalized
substitution operation.Comment: In Proceedings LFMTP 2011, arXiv:1110.668
An Open Challenge Problem Repository for Systems Supporting Binders
A variety of logical frameworks support the use of higher-order abstract
syntax in representing formal systems; however, each system has its own set of
benchmarks. Even worse, general proof assistants that provide special libraries
for dealing with binders offer a very limited evaluation of such libraries, and
the examples given often do not exercise and stress-test key aspects that arise
in the presence of binders. In this paper we design an open repository ORBI
(Open challenge problem Repository for systems supporting reasoning with
BInders). We believe the field of reasoning about languages with binders has
matured, and a common set of benchmarks provides an important basis for
evaluation and qualitative comparison of different systems and libraries that
support binders, and it will help to advance the field.Comment: In Proceedings LFMTP 2015, arXiv:1507.0759
An assertion language for constraint logic programs
In an advanced program development environment, such as that discussed in the introduction of this book, several tools may coexist which handle both the program and information on the program in different ways. Also, these tools may interact among themselves and with the user. Thus, the different tools and the user need some way to communicate. It is our design principie that such communication be performed in terms of assertions. Assertions are syntactic objects which allow expressing properties of programs. Several assertion languages have been used in the past in different contexts, mainly related to program debugging. In this chapter we propose a general language of assertions which is used in different tools for validation and debugging of constraint logic programs in the context of the DiSCiPl project. The assertion language proposed is parametric w.r.t. the particular constraint domain and properties of interest being used in each different tool. The language proposed is quite general in that it poses few restrictions on the kind of properties which may be expressed. We believe the assertion language we propose is of practical relevance and appropriate for the different uses required in the tools considered
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