The complexity of completions in partial combinatory algebra

We discuss the complexity of completions of partial combinatory algebras, in particular of Kleene's first model. Various completions of this model exist in the literature, but all of them have high complexity. We show that although there do not exist computable completions, there exists completions of low Turing degree. We use this construction to relate completions of Kleene's first model to complete extensions of PA. We also discuss the complexity of pcas defined from nonstandard models of PA

A Structural Approach to Reversible Computation

Reversibility is a key issue in the interface between computation and physics, and of growing importance as miniaturization progresses towards its physical limits. Most foundational work on reversible computing to date has focussed on simulations of low-level machine models. By contrast, we develop a more structural approach. We show how high-level functional programs can be mapped compositionally (i.e. in a syntax-directed fashion) into a simple kind of automata which are immediately seen to be reversible. The size of the automaton is linear in the size of the functional term. In mathematical terms, we are building a concrete model of functional computation. This construction stems directly from ideas arising in Geometry of Interaction and Linear Logic---but can be understood without any knowledge of these topics. In fact, it serves as an excellent introduction to them. At the same time, an interesting logical delineation between reversible and irreversible forms of computation emerges from our analysis.Comment: 30 pages, appeared in Theoretical Computer Scienc

Categorical combinators

Our main aim is to present the connection between λ-calculus and Cartesian closed categories both in an untyped and purely syntactic setting. More specifically we establish a syntactic equivalence theorem between what we call categorical combinatory logic and λ-calculus with explicit products and projections, with β and η-rules as well as with surjective pairing. “Combinatory logic” is of course inspired by Curry's combinatory logic, based on the well-known S, K, I. Our combinatory logic is “categorical” because its combinators and rules are obtained by extracting untyped information from Cartesian closed categories (looking at arrows only, thus forgetting about objects). Compiling λ-calculus into these combinators happens to be natural and provokes only n log n code expansion. Moreover categorical combinatory logic is entirely faithful to β-reduction where combinatory logic needs additional rather complex and unnatural axioms to be. The connection easily extends to the corresponding typed calculi, where typed categorical combinatory logic is a free Cartesian closed category where the notion of terminal object is replaced by the explicit manipulation of applying (a function to its argument) and coupling (arguments to build datas in products). Our syntactic equivalences induce equivalences at the model level. The paper is intended as a mathematical foundation for developing implementations of functional programming languages based on a “categorical abstract machine,” as developed in a companion paper (Cousineau, Curien, and Mauny, in “Proceedings, ACM Conf. on Functional Programming Languages and Computer Architecture,” Nancy, 1985)

A Semantic Approach to Illative Combinatory Logic

This work introduces the theory of illative combinatory algebras, which is closely related to systems of illative combinatory logic. We thus provide a semantic interpretation for a formal framework in which both logic and computation may be expressed in a unified manner. Systems of illative combinatory logic consist of combinatory logic extended with constants and rules of inference intended to capture logical notions. Our theory does not correspond strictly to any traditional system, but draws inspiration from many. It differs from them in that it couples the notion of truth with the notion of equality between terms, which enables the use of logical formulas in conditional expressions. We give a consistency proof for first-order illative combinatory algebras. A complete embedding of classical predicate logic into our theory is also provided. The translation is very direct and natural

The Internal Operads of Combinatory Algebras

We argue that operads provide a general framework for dealing with polynomials and combinatory completeness of combinatory algebras, including the classical $\mathbf{SK}$-algebras, linear $\mathbf{BCI}$-algebras, planar $\mathbf{BI}(\_)^\bullet$-algebras as well as the braided $\mathbf{BC^\pm I}$-algebras. We show that every extensional combinatory algebra gives rise to a canonical closed operad, which we shall call the internal operad of the combinatory algebra. The internal operad construction gives a left adjoint to the forgetful functor from closed operads to extensional combinatory algebras. As a by-product, we derive extensionality axioms for the classes of combinatory algebras mentioned above

On a conjecture of Bergstra and Tucker

AbstractBergstra and Tucker (1983) conjectured that a semicomputable (abstract) data type has a finite hidden enrichment specification under its initial algebra semantics. In a previous paper (1987) we tried to solve the entire conjecture and we found a weak solution. Here, following the line and the proof techniques of the previous paper, we examine a nontrivial case in which the conjecture has a positive answer

Term rewriting systems from Church-Rosser to Knuth-Bendix and beyond

Term rewriting systems are important for computability theory of abstract data types, for automatic theorem proving, and for the foundations of functional programming. In this short survey we present, starting from first principles, several of the basic notions and facts in the area of term rewriting. Our treatment, which often will be informal, covers abstract rewriting, Combinatory Logic, orthogonal systems, strategies, critical pair completion, and some extended rewriting formats