Call-by-name, call-by-value and the λ-calculus

AbstractThis paper examines the old question of the relationship between ISWIM and the λ-calculus, using the distinction between call-by-value and call-by-name. It is held that the relationship should be mediated by a standardisation theorem. Since this leads to difficulties, a new λ-calculus is introduced whose standardisation theorem gives a good correspondence with ISWIM as given by the SECD machine, but without the letrec feature. Next a call-by-name variant of ISWIM is introduced which is in an analogous correspondence withthe usual λ-calculus. The relation between call-by-value and call-by-name is then studied by giving simulations of each language by the other and interpretations of each calculus in the other. These are obtained as another application of the continuation technique. Some emphasis is placed throughout on the notion of operational equality (or contextual equality). If terms can be proved equal in a calculus they are operationally equal in the corresponding language. Unfortunately, operational equality is not preserved by either of the simulations

A logic for parametric polymorphism with effects

Abstract. We present a logic for reasoning about parametric polymorphism in combination with arbitrary computational effects (nondeterminism, exceptions, continuations, side-effects etc.). As examples of reasoning in the logic, we show how to verify correctness of polymorphic type encodings in the presence of effects.

Some Varieties of Equational Logic (Extended Abstract)

... been a major theme of Joseph Goguen’s research, perhaps even the major theme. One strand of this work concerns algebraic datatypes. Recently there has been some interest in what one may call algebraic computation types. As we will show, these are also given by equational theories, if one only understands the notion of equational logic in somewhat broader senses than usual. One moral of our work is that, suitably considered, equational logic is not tied to the usual first-order syntax of terms and equations. Standard equational logic has proved a useful tool in several branches of computer science, see, for example, the RTA conference series [9] and textbooks, such as [1]. Perhaps the possibilities for richer varieties of equational logic discussed here will lead to further applications. We begin with an explanation of computation types. Starting around 1989, Eugenio Moggi introduced the idea of monadic notions of computation [11, 12

Handlers of Algebraic Effects

Abstract. We present an algebraic treatment of exception handlers and, more generally, introduce handlers for other computational effects representable by an algebraic theory. These include nondeterminism, interactive input/output, concurrency, state, time, and their combinations; in all cases the computation monad is the free-model monad of the theory. Each such handler corresponds to a model of the theory for the effects at hand. The handling construct, which applies a handler to a computation, is based on the one introduced by Benton and Kennedy, and is interpreted using the homomorphism induced by the universal property of the free model. This general construct can be used to describe previously unrelated concepts from both theory and practice.

Leveraging Semantic Web Service Descriptions for Validation by Automated Functional Testing

Recent years have seen the utilisation of Semantic Web Service descriptions for automating a wide range of service-related activities, with a primary focus on service discovery, composition, execution and mediation. An important area which so far has received less attention is service validation, whereby advertised services are proven to conform to required behavioural specifications. This paper proposes a method for validation of service-oriented systems through automated functional testing. The method leverages ontology-based and rule-based descriptions of service inputs, outputs, preconditions and effects (IOPE) for constructing a stateful EFSM specification. The specification is subsequently utilised for functional testing and validation using the proven Stream X-machine (SXM) testing methodology. Complete functional test sets are generated automatically at an abstract level and are then applied to concrete Web services, using test drivers created from the Web service descriptions. The testing method comes with completeness guarantees and provides a strong method for validating the behaviour of Web services

Syntax for free: representing syntax with binding using parametricity

We show that, in a parametric model of polymorphism, the type ∀ α. ((α → α) → α) → (α → α → α) → α is isomorphic to closed de Bruijn terms. That is, the type of closed higher-order abstract syntax terms is isomorphic to a concrete representation. To demonstrate the proof we have constructed a model of parametric polymorphism inside the Coq proof assistant. The proof of the theorem requires parametricity over Kripke relations. We also investigate some variants of this representation

Evaluating the performance of model transformation styles in Maude

Rule-based programming has been shown to be very successful in many application areas. Two prominent examples are the specification of model transformations in model driven development approaches and the definition of structured operational semantics of formal languages. General rewriting frameworks such as Maude are flexible enough to allow the programmer to adopt and mix various rule styles. The choice between styles can be biased by the programmer’s background. For instance, experts in visual formalisms might prefer graph-rewriting styles, while experts in semantics might prefer structurally inductive rules. This paper evaluates the performance of different rule styles on a significant benchmark taken from the literature on model transformation. Depending on the actual transformation being carried out, our results show that different rule styles can offer drastically different performances. We point out the situations from which each rule style benefits to offer a valuable set of hints for choosing one style over the other

Linearity in the non-deterministic call-by-value setting

We consider the non-deterministic extension of the call-by-value lambda calculus, which corresponds to the additive fragment of the linear-algebraic lambda-calculus. We define a fine-grained type system, capturing the right linearity present in such formalisms. After proving the subject reduction and the strong normalisation properties, we propose a translation of this calculus into the System F with pairs, which corresponds to a non linear fragment of linear logic. The translation provides a deeper understanding of the linearity in our setting.Comment: 15 pages. To appear in WoLLIC 201

Isolating JavaScript with Filters, Rewriting, and Wrappers

Abstract. We study methods that allow web sites to safely combine JavaScript from untrusted sources. If implemented properly, filters can prevent dangerous code from loading into the execution environment, while rewriting allows greater expressiveness by inserting run-time checks. Wrapping properties of the execution environment can prevent misuse without requiring changes to imported JavaScript. Using a formal semantics for the ECMA 262-3 standard language, we prove security properties of a subset of JavaScript, comparable in expressiveness to Facebook FBJS, obtained by combining three isolation mechanisms. The isolation guarantees of the three mechanisms are interdependent, with rewriting and wrapper functions relying on the absence of JavaScript constructs eliminated by language filters.