Light types for polynomial time computation in lambda-calculus

We propose a new type system for lambda-calculus ensuring that well-typed programs can be executed in polynomial time: Dual light affine logic (DLAL). DLAL has a simple type language with a linear and an intuitionistic type arrow, and one modality. It corresponds to a fragment of Light affine logic (LAL). We show that contrarily to LAL, DLAL ensures good properties on lambda-terms: subject reduction is satisfied and a well-typed term admits a polynomial bound on the reduction by any strategy. We establish that as LAL, DLAL allows to represent all polytime functions. Finally we give a type inference procedure for propositional DLAL.Comment: 20 pages (including 10 pages of appendix). (revised version; in particular section 5 has been modified). A short version is to appear in the proceedings of the conference LICS 2004 (IEEE Computer Society Press

An Embedding of the BSS Model of Computation in Light Affine Lambda-Calculus

This paper brings together two lines of research: implicit characterization of complexity classes by Linear Logic (LL) on the one hand, and computation over an arbitrary ring in the Blum-Shub-Smale (BSS) model on the other. Given a fixed ring structure K we define an extension of Terui's light affine lambda-calculus typed in LAL (Light Affine Logic) with a basic type for K. We show that this calculus captures the polynomial time function class FP(K): every typed term can be evaluated in polynomial time and conversely every polynomial time BSS machine over K can be simulated in this calculus.Comment: 11 pages. A preliminary version appeared as Research Report IAC CNR Roma, N.57 (11/2004), november 200

Elementary linear logic revisited for polynomial time and an exponential time hierarchy (extended version)

Nombre de pages: 20. Une version courte de ce travail est à paraître dans les actes de: Asian Symposium on Programming Languages and Systems (APLAS 2011).Elementary linear logic is a simple variant of linear logic, introduced by Girard and which characterizes in the proofs-as-programs approach the class of elementary functions (computable in time bounded by a tower of exponentials of fixed height). Our goal here is to show that despite its simplicity, elementary linear logic can nevertheless be used as a common framework to characterize the different levels of a hierarchy of deterministic time complexity classes, within elementary time. We consider a variant of this logic with type fixpoints and weakening. By selecting specific types we then characterize the class P of polynomial time predicates and more generally the hierarchy of classes k-EXP, for k>=0, where k-EXP is the union of DTIME(2_k^{n^i}), for i>=1

On Quasi-Interpretations, Blind Abstractions and Implicit Complexity

Quasi-interpretations are a technique to guarantee complexity bounds on first-order functional programs: with termination orderings they give in particular a sufficient condition for a program to be executable in polynomial time, called here the P-criterion. We study properties of the programs satisfying the P-criterion, in order to better understand its intensional expressive power. Given a program on binary lists, its blind abstraction is the nondeterministic program obtained by replacing lists by their lengths (natural numbers). A program is blindly polynomial if its blind abstraction terminates in polynomial time. We show that all programs satisfying a variant of the P-criterion are in fact blindly polynomial. Then we give two extensions of the P-criterion: one by relaxing the termination ordering condition, and the other one (the bounded value property) giving a necessary and sufficient condition for a program to be polynomial time executable, with memoisation.Comment: 18 page

General Ramified Recurrence is Sound for Polynomial Time

Leivant's ramified recurrence is one of the earliest examples of an implicit characterization of the polytime functions as a subalgebra of the primitive recursive functions. Leivant's result, however, is originally stated and proved only for word algebras, i.e. free algebras whose constructors take at most one argument. This paper presents an extension of these results to ramified functions on any free algebras, provided the underlying terms are represented as graphs rather than trees, so that sharing of identical subterms can be exploited

Combining Linear Logic and Size Types for Implicit Complexity

Several type systems have been proposed to statically control the time complexity of lambda-calculus programs and characterize complexity classes such as FPTIME or FEXPTIME. A first line of research stems from linear logic and restricted versions of its !-modality controlling duplication. A second approach relies on the idea of tracking the size increase between input and output, and together with a restricted recursion scheme, to deduce time complexity bounds. However both approaches suffer from limitations : either a limited intensional expressivity, or linearity restrictions. In the present work we incorporate both approaches into a common type system, in order to overcome their respective constraints. Our system is based on elementary linear logic combined with linear size types, called sEAL, and leads to characterizations of the complexity classes FPTIME and 2k-FEXPTIME, for k >= 0

Free-cut elimination in linear logic and an application to a feasible arithmetic

International audienceWe prove a general form of 'free-cut elimination' for first-order theories in linear logic, yielding normal forms of proofs where cuts are anchored to nonlogical steps. To demonstrate the usefulness of this result, we consider a version of arithmetic in linear logic, based on a previous axiomatisation by Bellantoni and Hofmann. We prove a witnessing theorem for a fragment of this arithmetic via the 'witness function method', showing that the provably convergent functions are precisely the polynomial-time functions. The programs extracted are implemented in the framework of 'safe' recursive functions, due to Bellantoni and Cook, where the ! modality of linear logic corresponds to normal inputs of a safe recursive program

First steps in synthetic guarded domain theory: step-indexing in the topos of trees

We present the topos S of trees as a model of guarded recursion. We study the internal dependently-typed higher-order logic of S and show that S models two modal operators, on predicates and types, which serve as guards in recursive definitions of terms, predicates, and types. In particular, we show how to solve recursive type equations involving dependent types. We propose that the internal logic of S provides the right setting for the synthetic construction of abstract versions of step-indexed models of programming languages and program logics. As an example, we show how to construct a model of a programming language with higher-order store and recursive types entirely inside the internal logic of S. Moreover, we give an axiomatic categorical treatment of models of synthetic guarded domain theory and prove that, for any complete Heyting algebra A with a well-founded basis, the topos of sheaves over A forms a model of synthetic guarded domain theory, generalizing the results for S

Higher-order interpretations and program complexity

International audiencePolynomial interpretations and their generalizations like quasi-interpretations have been used in the setting of first-order functional languages to design criteria ensuring statically some complexity bounds on programs [10]. This fits in the area of implicit computational complexity, which aims at giving machine-free characterizations of complexity classes. In this paper, we extend this approach to the higher-order setting. For that we consider simply-typed term rewriting systems [35], we define higher-order polynomial interpretations for them, and we give a criterion ensuring that a program can be executed in polynomial time. In order to obtain a criterion flexible enough to validate interesting programs using higher-order primitives, we introduce a notion of polynomial quasi-interpretations, coupled with a simple termination criterion based on linear types and path-like orders

Higher-Order Interpretations and Program Complexity

Polynomial interpretations and their generalizations like quasi-interpretations have been used in the setting of first-order functional languages to design criteria ensuring statically some complexity bounds on programs. This fits in the area of implicit computational complexity, which aims at giving machine-free characterizations of complexity classes. In this paper, we extend this approach to the higher-order setting. For that we consider the notion of simply-typed term rewriting systems, we define higher-order polynomial interpretations for them and give a criterion ensuring that a program can be executed in polynomial time. In order to obtain a criterion flexible enough to validate interesting programs using higher-order primitives, we introduce a notion of polynomial quasi-interpretations, coupled with a simple termination criterion based on linear types and path-like orders