Termination of Narrowing: Automated Proofs and Modularity Properties

En 1936 Alan Turing demostro que el halting problem, esto es, el problema de decidir si un programa termina o no, es un problema indecidible para la inmensa mayoria de los lenguajes de programacion. A pesar de ello, la terminacion es un problema tan relevante que en las ultimas decadas un gran numero de tecnicas han sido desarrolladas para demostrar la terminacion de forma automatica de la maxima cantidad posible de programas. Los sistemas de reescritura de terminos proporcionan un marco teorico abstracto perfecto para el estudio de la terminacion de programas. En este marco, la evaluaci on de un t ermino consiste en la aplicacion no determinista de un conjunto de reglas de reescritura. El estrechamiento (narrowing) de terminos es una generalizacion de la reescritura que proporciona un mecanismo de razonamiento automatico. Por ejemplo, dado un conjunto de reglas que denan la suma y la multiplicacion, la reescritura permite calcular expresiones aritmeticas, mientras que el estrechamiento permite resolver ecuaciones con variables. Esta tesis constituye el primer estudio en profundidad de las propiedades de terminacion del estrechamiento. Las contribuciones son las siguientes. En primer lugar, se identican clases de sistemas en las que el estrechamiento tiene un comportamiento bueno, en el sentido de que siempre termina. Muchos metodos de razonamiento automatico, como el analisis de la semantica de lenguajes de programaci on mediante operadores de punto jo, se benefician de esta caracterizacion. En segundo lugar, se introduce un metodo automatico, basado en el marco teorico de pares de dependencia, para demostrar la terminacion del estrechamiento en un sistema particular. Nuestro metodo es, por primera vez, aplicable a cualquier clase de sistemas. En tercer lugar, se propone un nuevo metodo para estudiar la terminacion del estrechamiento desde un termino particular, permitiendo el analisis de la terminacion de lenguajes de programacion. El nuevo metodo generaliza losIborra López, J. (2010). Termination of Narrowing: Automated Proofs and Modularity Properties [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/19251Palanci

Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite, …

We study properties of rewrite systems that are not necessarily terminating, but allow instead for transfinite derivations that have a limit. In particular, we give conditions for the existence of a limit and for its uniqueness and relate the operational and algebraic semantics of infinitary theories. We also consider sufficient completeness of hierarchical systems

Higher Order Unification via Explicit Substitutions

AbstractHigher order unification is equational unification for βη-conversion. But it is not first order equational unification, as substitution has to avoid capture. Thus, the methods for equational unification (such as narrowing) built upon grafting (i.e., substitution without renaming) cannot be used for higher order unification, which needs specific algorithms. Our goal in this paper is to reduce higher order unification to first order equational unification in a suitable theory. This is achieved by replacing substitution by grafting, but this replacement is not straightforward as it raises two major problems. First, some unification problems have solutions with grafting but no solution with substitution. Then equational unification algorithms rest upon the fact that grafting and reduction commute. But grafting and βη-reduction do not commute in λ-calculus and reducing an equation may change the set of its solutions. This difficulty comes from the interaction between the substitutions initiated by βη-reduction and the ones initiated by the unification process. Two kinds of variables are involved: those of βη-conversion and those of unification. So, we need to set up a calculus which distinguishes between these two kinds of variables and such that reduction and grafting commute. For this purpose, the application of a substitution of a reduction variable to a unification one must be delayed until this variable is instantiated. Such a separation and delay are provided by a calculus of explicit substitutions. Unification in such a calculus can be performed by well-known algorithms such as narrowing, but we present a specialised algorithm for greater efficiency. At last we show how to relate unification in λ-calculus and in a calculus with explicit substitutions. Thus, we come up with a new higher order unification algorithm which eliminates some burdens of the previous algorithms, in particular the functional handling of scopes. Huet's algorithm can be seen as a specific strategy for our algorithm, since each of its steps can be decomposed into elementary ones, leading to a more atomic description of the unification process. Also, solved forms in λ-calculus can easily be computed from solved forms in λσ-calculus

Twenty years of rewriting logic

AbstractRewriting logic is a simple computational logic that can naturally express both concurrent computation and logical deduction with great generality. This paper provides a gentle, intuitive introduction to its main ideas, as well as a survey of the work that many researchers have carried out over the last twenty years in advancing: (i) its foundations; (ii) its semantic framework and logical framework uses; (iii) its language implementations and its formal tools; and (iv) its many applications to automated deduction, software and hardware specification and verification, security, real-time and cyber-physical systems, probabilistic systems, bioinformatics and chemical systems

Mechanised Uniform Interpolation for Modal Logics K, GL, and iSL

The uniform interpolation property in a given logic can be understood as the definability of propositional quantifiers. We mechanise the computation of these quantifiers and prove correctness in the Coq proof assistant for three modal logics, namely: (1) the modal logic K, for which a pen-and-paper proof exists; (2) Gödel-Löb logic GL, for which our formalisation clarifies an important point in an existing, but incomplete, sequent-style proof; and (3) intuitionistic strong Löb logic iSL, for which this is the first proof-theoretic construction of uniform interpolants. Our work also yields verified programs that allow one to compute the propositional quantifiers on any formula in this logic