98 research outputs found
An Intensional Concurrent Faithful Encoding of Turing Machines
The benchmark for computation is typically given as Turing computability; the
ability for a computation to be performed by a Turing Machine. Many languages
exploit (indirect) encodings of Turing Machines to demonstrate their ability to
support arbitrary computation. However, these encodings are usually by
simulating the entire Turing Machine within the language, or by encoding a
language that does an encoding or simulation itself. This second category is
typical for process calculi that show an encoding of lambda-calculus (often
with restrictions) that in turn simulates a Turing Machine. Such approaches
lead to indirect encodings of Turing Machines that are complex, unclear, and
only weakly equivalent after computation. This paper presents an approach to
encoding Turing Machines into intensional process calculi that is faithful,
reduction preserving, and structurally equivalent. The encoding is demonstrated
in a simple asymmetric concurrent pattern calculus before generalised to
simplify infinite terms, and to show encodings into Concurrent Pattern Calculus
and Psi Calculi.Comment: In Proceedings ICE 2014, arXiv:1410.701
On the Semantics of Intensionality and Intensional Recursion
Intensionality is a phenomenon that occurs in logic and computation. In the
most general sense, a function is intensional if it operates at a level finer
than (extensional) equality. This is a familiar setting for computer
scientists, who often study different programs or processes that are
interchangeable, i.e. extensionally equal, even though they are not implemented
in the same way, so intensionally distinct. Concomitant with intensionality is
the phenomenon of intensional recursion, which refers to the ability of a
program to have access to its own code. In computability theory, intensional
recursion is enabled by Kleene's Second Recursion Theorem. This thesis is
concerned with the crafting of a logical toolkit through which these phenomena
can be studied. Our main contribution is a framework in which mathematical and
computational constructions can be considered either extensionally, i.e. as
abstract values, or intensionally, i.e. as fine-grained descriptions of their
construction. Once this is achieved, it may be used to analyse intensional
recursion.Comment: DPhil thesis, Department of Computer Science & St John's College,
University of Oxfor
In Search of Effectful Dependent Types
Real world programming languages crucially depend on the availability of
computational effects to achieve programming convenience and expressive power
as well as program efficiency. Logical frameworks rely on predicates, or
dependent types, to express detailed logical properties about entities.
According to the Curry-Howard correspondence, programming languages and logical
frameworks should be very closely related. However, a language that has both
good support for real programming and serious proving is still missing from the
programming languages zoo. We believe this is due to a fundamental lack of
understanding of how dependent types should interact with computational
effects. In this thesis, we make a contribution towards such an understanding,
with a focus on semantic methods.Comment: PhD thesis, Version submitted to Exam School
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