10,841 research outputs found
A principled approach to programming with nested types in Haskell
Initial algebra semantics is one of the cornerstones of the theory of modern functional programming languages. For each inductive data type, it provides a Church encoding for that type, a build combinator which constructs data of that type, a fold combinator which encapsulates structured recursion over data of that type, and a fold/build rule which optimises modular programs by eliminating from them data constructed using the buildcombinator, and immediately consumed using the foldcombinator, for that type. It has long been thought that initial algebra semantics is not expressive enough to provide a similar foundation for programming with nested types in Haskell. Specifically, the standard folds derived from initial algebra semantics have been considered too weak to capture commonly occurring patterns of recursion over data of nested types in Haskell, and no build combinators or fold/build rules have until now been defined for nested types. This paper shows that standard folds are, in fact, sufficiently expressive for programming with nested types in Haskell. It also defines buildcombinators and fold/build fusion rules for nested types. It thus shows how initial algebra semantics provides a principled, expressive, and elegant foundation for programming with nested types in Haskell
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
First steps in synthetic guarded domain theory: step-indexing in the topos of trees
We present the topos S of trees as a model of guarded recursion. We study the
internal dependently-typed higher-order logic of S and show that S models two
modal operators, on predicates and types, which serve as guards in recursive
definitions of terms, predicates, and types. In particular, we show how to
solve recursive type equations involving dependent types. We propose that the
internal logic of S provides the right setting for the synthetic construction
of abstract versions of step-indexed models of programming languages and
program logics. As an example, we show how to construct a model of a
programming language with higher-order store and recursive types entirely
inside the internal logic of S. Moreover, we give an axiomatic categorical
treatment of models of synthetic guarded domain theory and prove that, for any
complete Heyting algebra A with a well-founded basis, the topos of sheaves over
A forms a model of synthetic guarded domain theory, generalizing the results
for S
Parametric Compositional Data Types
In previous work we have illustrated the benefits that compositional data
types (CDTs) offer for implementing languages and in general for dealing with
abstract syntax trees (ASTs). Based on Swierstra's data types \'a la carte,
CDTs are implemented as a Haskell library that enables the definition of
recursive data types and functions on them in a modular and extendable fashion.
Although CDTs provide a powerful tool for analysing and manipulating ASTs, they
lack a convenient representation of variable binders. In this paper we remedy
this deficiency by combining the framework of CDTs with Chlipala's parametric
higher-order abstract syntax (PHOAS). We show how a generalisation from
functors to difunctors enables us to capture PHOAS while still maintaining the
features of the original implementation of CDTs, in particular its modularity.
Unlike previous approaches, we avoid so-called exotic terms without resorting
to abstract types: this is crucial when we want to perform transformations on
CDTs that inspect the recursively computed CDTs, e.g. constant folding.Comment: In Proceedings MSFP 2012, arXiv:1202.240
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