On Irrelevance and Algorithmic Equality in Predicative Type Theory

Dependently typed programs contain an excessive amount of static terms which are necessary to please the type checker but irrelevant for computation. To separate static and dynamic code, several static analyses and type systems have been put forward. We consider Pfenning's type theory with irrelevant quantification which is compatible with a type-based notion of equality that respects eta-laws. We extend Pfenning's theory to universes and large eliminations and develop its meta-theory. Subject reduction, normalization and consistency are obtained by a Kripke model over the typed equality judgement. Finally, a type-directed equality algorithm is described whose completeness is proven by a second Kripke model.Comment: 36 pages, superseds the FoSSaCS 2011 paper of the first author, titled "Irrelevance in Type Theory with a Heterogeneous Equality Judgement

Normalization by evaluation for call-by-push-value and polarized lambda calculus

We observe that normalization by evaluation for simply-typed lambda-calculus with weak coproducts can be carried out in a weak bi-cartesian closed category of presheaves equipped with a monad that allows us to perform case distinction on neutral terms of sum type. The placement of the monad influences the normal forms we obtain: for instance, placing the monad on coproducts gives us eta-long beta-pi normal forms where pi refers to permutation of case distinctions out of elimination positions. We further observe that placing the monad on every coproduct is rather wasteful, and an optimal placement of the monad can be determined by considering polarized simple types inspired by focalization. Polarization classifies types into positive and negative, and it is sufficient to place the monad at the embedding of positive types into negative ones. We consider two calculi based on polarized types: pure call-by-push-value (CBPV) and polarized lambda-calculus, the natural deduction calculus corresponding to focalized sequent calculus. For these two calculi, we present algorithms for normalization by evaluation. We further discuss different implementations of the monad and their relation to existing normalization proofs for lambda-calculus with sums. Our developments have been partially formalized in the Agda proof assistant

Termination Casts: A Flexible Approach to Termination with General Recursion

This paper proposes a type-and-effect system called Teqt, which distinguishes terminating terms and total functions from possibly diverging terms and partial functions, for a lambda calculus with general recursion and equality types. The central idea is to include a primitive type-form "Terminates t", expressing that term t is terminating; and then allow terms t to be coerced from possibly diverging to total, using a proof of Terminates t. We call such coercions termination casts, and show how to implement terminating recursion using them. For the meta-theory of the system, we describe a translation from Teqt to a logical theory of termination for general recursive, simply typed functions. Every typing judgment of Teqt is translated to a theorem expressing the appropriate termination property of the computational part of the Teqt term.Comment: In Proceedings PAR 2010, arXiv:1012.455

Building Decision Procedures in the Calculus of Inductive Constructions

It is commonly agreed that the success of future proof assistants will rely on their ability to incorporate computations within deduction in order to mimic the mathematician when replacing the proof of a proposition P by the proof of an equivalent proposition P' obtained from P thanks to possibly complex calculations. In this paper, we investigate a new version of the calculus of inductive constructions which incorporates arbitrary decision procedures into deduction via the conversion rule of the calculus. The novelty of the problem in the context of the calculus of inductive constructions lies in the fact that the computation mechanism varies along proof-checking: goals are sent to the decision procedure together with the set of user hypotheses available from the current context. Our main result shows that this extension of the calculus of constructions does not compromise its main properties: confluence, subject reduction, strong normalization and consistency are all preserved