29 research outputs found
Dependent Types for Pragmatics
This paper proposes the use of dependent types for pragmatic phenomena such
as pronoun binding and presupposition resolution as a type-theoretic
alternative to formalisms such as Discourse Representation Theory and Dynamic
Semantics.Comment: This version updates the paper for publication in LEU
Generating Bijections between HOAS and the Natural Numbers
A provably correct bijection between higher-order abstract syntax (HOAS) and
the natural numbers enables one to define a "not equals" relationship between
terms and also to have an adequate encoding of sets of terms, and maps from one
term family to another. Sets and maps are useful in many situations and are
preferably provided in a library of some sort. I have released a map and set
library for use with Twelf which can be used with any type for which a
bijection to the natural numbers exists.
Since creating such bijections is tedious and error-prone, I have created a
"bijection generator" that generates such bijections automatically together
with proofs of correctness, all in the context of Twelf.Comment: In Proceedings LFMTP 2010, arXiv:1009.218
Relating Nominal and Higher-order Abstract Syntax Specifications
Nominal abstract syntax and higher-order abstract syntax provide a means for
describing binding structure which is higher-level than traditional techniques.
These approaches have spawned two different communities which have developed
along similar lines but with subtle differences that make them difficult to
relate. The nominal abstract syntax community has devices like names,
freshness, name-abstractions with variable capture, and the new-quantifier,
whereas the higher-order abstract syntax community has devices like
lambda-binders, lambda-conversion, raising, and the nabla-quantifier. This
paper aims to unify these communities and provide a concrete correspondence
between their different devices. In particular, we develop a
semantics-preserving translation from alpha-Prolog, a nominal abstract syntax
based logic programming language, to G-, a higher-order abstract syntax based
logic programming language. We also discuss higher-order judgments, a common
and powerful tool for specifications with higher-order abstract syntax, and we
show how these can be incorporated into G-. This establishes G- as a language
with the power of higher-order abstract syntax, the fine-grained variable
control of nominal specifications, and the desirable properties of higher-order
judgments.Comment: To appear in PPDP 201
Operational Semantics of Resolution and Productivity in Horn Clause Logic
This paper presents a study of operational and type-theoretic properties of
different resolution strategies in Horn clause logic. We distinguish four
different kinds of resolution: resolution by unification (SLD-resolution),
resolution by term-matching, the recently introduced structural resolution, and
partial (or lazy) resolution. We express them all uniformly as abstract
reduction systems, which allows us to undertake a thorough comparative analysis
of their properties. To match this small-step semantics, we propose to take
Howard's System H as a type-theoretic semantic counterpart. Using System H, we
interpret Horn formulas as types, and a derivation for a given formula as the
proof term inhabiting the type given by the formula. We prove soundness of
these abstract reduction systems relative to System H, and we show completeness
of SLD-resolution and structural resolution relative to System H. We identify
conditions under which structural resolution is operationally equivalent to
SLD-resolution. We show correspondence between term-matching resolution for
Horn clause programs without existential variables and term rewriting.Comment: Journal Formal Aspect of Computing, 201
Generic bidirectional typing for dependent type theories
Bidirectional typing is a discipline in which the typing judgment is
decomposed explicitly into inference and checking modes, allowing to control
the flow of type information in typing rules and to specify algorithmically how
they should be used. Bidirectional typing has been fruitfully studied and
bidirectional systems have been developed for many type theories. However, the
formal development of bidirectional typing has until now been kept confined to
specific theories, with general guidelines remaining informal. In this work, we
give a generic account of bidirectional typing for a general class of dependent
type theories. This is done by first giving a general definition of type
theories (or equivalently, a logical framework), for which we define
declarative and bidirectional type systems. We then show, in a
theory-independent fashion, that the two systems are equivalent. This
equivalence is then explored to establish the decidability of typing for weak
normalizing theories, yielding a generic type-checking algorithm that has been
implemented in a prototype and used in practice with many theories
Towards a Logical Framework with Intersection and Union Types
International audienceWe present an ongoing implementation of a dependent-type theory (∆-framework) based on the Edinburgh Logical Framework LF, extended with Proof-functional logical connectives such as intersection , union, and strong (or minimal relevant) implication. Proof-functional connectives take into account the shape of logical proofs, thus allowing to reflect polymorphic features of proofs in formulae. This is in contrast to classical Truth-functional connec-tives where the meaning of a compound formula is only dependent on the truth value of its subformulas. Both Logical Frameworks and proof functional logics consider proofs as first class citizens. But they do it differently namely, explicitly in the former while implicitly in the latter. Their combination opens up new possibilites of formal reasoning on proof-theoretic semantics. We provide some examples in the extended type theory and we outline a type checker. The theory of the system is under investigation. Once validated in vitro, the proof-functional type theory can be successfully plugged in existing truth-functional proof assistants