525 research outputs found
Relational Parametricity and Control
We study the equational theory of Parigot's second-order
λμ-calculus in connection with a call-by-name continuation-passing
style (CPS) translation into a fragment of the second-order λ-calculus.
It is observed that the relational parametricity on the target calculus induces
a natural notion of equivalence on the λμ-terms. On the other hand,
the unconstrained relational parametricity on the λμ-calculus turns
out to be inconsistent with this CPS semantics. Following these facts, we
propose to formulate the relational parametricity on the λμ-calculus
in a constrained way, which might be called ``focal parametricity''.Comment: 22 pages, for Logical Methods in Computer Scienc
The Algebraic Intersection Type Unification Problem
The algebraic intersection type unification problem is an important component
in proof search related to several natural decision problems in intersection
type systems. It is unknown and remains open whether the algebraic intersection
type unification problem is decidable. We give the first nontrivial lower bound
for the problem by showing (our main result) that it is exponential time hard.
Furthermore, we show that this holds even under rank 1 solutions (substitutions
whose codomains are restricted to contain rank 1 types). In addition, we
provide a fixed-parameter intractability result for intersection type matching
(one-sided unification), which is known to be NP-complete.
We place the algebraic intersection type unification problem in the context
of unification theory. The equational theory of intersection types can be
presented as an algebraic theory with an ACI (associative, commutative, and
idempotent) operator (intersection type) combined with distributivity
properties with respect to a second operator (function type). Although the
problem is algebraically natural and interesting, it appears to occupy a
hitherto unstudied place in the theory of unification, and our investigation of
the problem suggests that new methods are required to understand the problem.
Thus, for the lower bound proof, we were not able to reduce from known results
in ACI-unification theory and use game-theoretic methods for two-player tiling
games
Inheritance as Implicit Coercion
We present a method for providing semantic interpretations for languages with a type system featuring inheritance polymorphism. Our approach is illustrated on an extension of the language Fun of Cardelli and Wegner, which we interpret via a translation into an extended polymorphic lambda calculus. Our goal is to interpret inheritances in Fun via coercion functions which are definable in the target of the translation. Existing techniques in the theory of semantic domains can be then used to interpret the extended polymorphic lambda calculus, thus providing many models for the original language. This technique makes it possible to model a rich type discipline which includes parametric polymorphism and recursive types as well as inheritance.
A central difficulty in providing interpretations for explicit type disciplines featuring inheritance in the sense discussed in this paper arises from the fact that programs can type-check in more than one way. Since interpretations follow the type-checking derivations, coherence theorems are required: that is, one must prove that the meaning of a program does not depend on the way it was type-checked. The proof of such theorems for our proposed interpretation are the basic technical results of this paper. Interestingly, proving coherence in the presence of recursive types, variants, and abstract types forced us to reexamine fundamental equational properties that arise in proof theory (in the form of commutative reductions) and domain theory (in the form of strict vs. non-strict functions)
A simple sequent calculus for nominal logic
Nominal logic is a variant of first-order logic that provides support for
reasoning about bound names in abstract syntax. A key feature of nominal logic
is the new-quantifier, which quantifies over fresh names (names not appearing
in any values considered so far). Previous attempts have been made to develop
convenient rules for reasoning with the new-quantifier, but we argue that none
of these attempts is completely satisfactory.
In this article we develop a new sequent calculus for nominal logic in which
the rules for the new- quantifier are much simpler than in previous attempts.
We also prove several structural and metatheoretic properties, including
cut-elimination, consistency, and equivalence to Pitts' axiomatization of
nominal logic
Perspectives for proof unwinding by programming languages techniques
In this chapter, we propose some future directions of work, potentially
beneficial to Mathematics and its foundations, based on the recent import of
methodology from the theory of programming languages into proof theory. This
scientific essay, written for the audience of proof theorists as well as the
working mathematician, is not a survey of the field, but rather a personal view
of the author who hopes that it may inspire future and fellow researchers
Gentzen-Prawitz Natural Deduction as a Teaching Tool
We report a four-years experiment in teaching reasoning to undergraduate
students, ranging from weak to gifted, using Gentzen-Prawitz's style natural
deduction. We argue that this pedagogical approach is a good alternative to the
use of Boolean algebra for teaching reasoning, especially for computer
scientists and formal methods practionners
Guard Your Daggers and Traces: On The Equational Properties of Guarded (Co-)recursion
Motivated by the recent interest in models of guarded (co-)recursion we study
its equational properties. We formulate axioms for guarded fixpoint operators
generalizing the axioms of iteration theories of Bloom and Esik. Models of
these axioms include both standard (e.g., cpo-based) models of iteration
theories and models of guarded recursion such as complete metric spaces or the
topos of trees studied by Birkedal et al. We show that the standard result on
the satisfaction of all Conway axioms by a unique dagger operation generalizes
to the guarded setting. We also introduce the notion of guarded trace operator
on a category, and we prove that guarded trace and guarded fixpoint operators
are in one-to-one correspondence. Our results are intended as first steps
leading to the description of classifying theories for guarded recursion and
hence completeness results involving our axioms of guarded fixpoint operators
in future work.Comment: In Proceedings FICS 2013, arXiv:1308.589
On the completeness of order-theoretic models of the lambda-calculus
Scott discovered his domain-theoretic models of the \u3bb-calculus, isomorphic to their function space, in 1969. A natural completeness problem then arises: whether any two terms equal in all Scott models are convertible. There is also an analogous consistency problem: whether every equation between two terms, consistent with the \u3bb-calculus, has a Scott model. We consider such questions for wider sets of sentences and wider classes of models, the pointed (completely) partially ordered ones. A negative result for a set of sentences shows the impossibility of finding Scott models for that class; a positive result gives evidence that there might be enough Scott models. We find, for example, that the order-extensional pointed \u3c9-cpo models are complete for \u3a01-sentences with positive matrices, whereas the consistency question for \u3a31-sentences with equational matrices depends on the consistency of certain critical sentences asserting the existence of certain functions analogous to the generalized Mal'cev operators first considered in the context of the \u3bb-calculus by Selinger
Relational Parametricity for Computational Effects
According to Strachey, a polymorphic program is parametric if it applies a
uniform algorithm independently of the type instantiations at which it is
applied. The notion of relational parametricity, introduced by Reynolds, is one
possible mathematical formulation of this idea. Relational parametricity
provides a powerful tool for establishing data abstraction properties, proving
equivalences of datatypes, and establishing equalities of programs. Such
properties have been well studied in a pure functional setting. Many programs,
however, exhibit computational effects, and are not accounted for by the
standard theory of relational parametricity. In this paper, we develop a
foundational framework for extending the notion of relational parametricity to
programming languages with effects.Comment: 31 pages, appears in Logical Methods in Computer Scienc
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