A general theory of syntax with bindings

In this thesis we give a general theory of syntax with bindings. We address the problem from a mathematical point of view and at the same time we give a formalization, in the Isabelle/HOL proof assistant. Our theory uses explicit names for variables, and then deals with alpha-equivalence classes, remaining intuitive and close to informal mathematics, although being fully formalized and sound in classical high-order logic. In this sense it can be regarded as a generalization of nominal logic. Our end product can be used to construct complex binding patterns and binding-aware datatypes, including non-well-founded and infinitely branching types, in a modular fashion. We provide definitions of the fundamental operators on terms (free variables, alpha-equivalence, and capture-avoiding substitution) and reasoning and definition principles, obeying Barendregt’s convention. We present our work as a thinking process that starts from some desiderata, and then evolves in different formalization stages for the general theory. We start by taking a “universal algebra” approach, modelling syntaxes via algebraic-style binding signatures, which we employ in a substantial case study on formal reasoning: Church-Rosser and standardization theorems for lamda-calculus. This solution proves itself too restrictive, so we refine it into a more flexible one, which constitutes the main original contribution of this thesis: We construct a universe of functors on sets that handle bindings on a general, flexible and modular level. Our functors do not commit to any a priori syntactic format, cater for codatatypes in addition to datatypes, and are supported by powerful definition and reasoning principles. They generalize the bounded natural functors (BNFs), which have been previously implemented in Isabelle/HOL to support (co)datatypes

A formalized general theory of syntax with bindings

We present the formalization of a theory of syntax with bindings that has been developed and refined over the last decade to support several large formalization efforts. Terms are defined for an arbitrary number of constructors of varying numbers of inputs, quotiented to alpha-equivalence and sorted according to a binding signature. The theory includes a rich collection of properties of the standard operators on terms, such as substitution and freshness. It also includes induction and recursion principles and support for semantic interpretation, all tailored for smooth interaction with the bindings and the standard operators

Bindings as bounded natural functors

We present a general framework for specifying and reasoning about syntax with bindings. Abstract binder types are modeled using a universe of functors on sets, subject to a number of operations that can be used to construct complex binding patterns and binding-aware datatypes, including non-well-founded and infinitely branching types, in a modular fashion. Despite not committing to any syntactic format, the framework is “concrete” enough to provide definitions of the fundamental operators on terms (free variables, alpha-equivalence, and capture-avoiding substitution) and reasoning and definition principles. This work is compatible with classical higher-order logic and has been formalized in the proof assistant Isabelle/HOL

A formalized general theory of syntax with bindings: extended version

We present the formalization of a theory of syntax with bindings that has been developed and refined over the last decade to support several large formalization efforts. Terms are defined for an arbitrary number of constructors of varying numbers of inputs, quotiented to alpha-equivalence and sorted according to a binding signature. The theory contains a rich collection of properties of the standard operators on terms, including substitution, swapping and freshness—namely, there are lemmas showing how each of the operators interacts with all the others and with the syntactic constructors. The theory also features induction and recursion principles and support for semantic interpretation, all tailored for smooth interaction with the bindings and the standard operators

Design-By-Contract for Flexible Multiparty Session Protocols

Choreographic models support a correctness-by-construction principle in distributed programming. Also, they enable the automatic generation of correct message-based communication patterns from a global specification of the desired system behaviour. In this paper we extend the theory of choreography automata, a choreographic model based on finite-state automata, with two key features. First, we allow participants to act only in some of the scenarios described by the choreography automaton. While this seems natural, many choreographic approaches in the literature, and choreography automata in particular, forbid this behaviour. Second, we equip communications with assertions constraining the values that can be communicated, enabling a design-by-contract approach. We provide a toolchain allowing to exploit the theory above to generate APIs for TypeScript web programming. Programs communicating via the generated APIs follow, by construction, the prescribed communication pattern and are free from communication errors such as deadlocks

Suitability versus fidelity for rating single-photon guns

The creation of specified quantum states is important for most, if not all, applications in quantum computation and communication. The quality of the state preparation is therefore an essential ingredient in any assessment of a quantum-state gun. We show that the fidelity, under the standard definitions is not sufficient to assess quantum sources, and we propose a new measure of suitability that necessarily depends on the application for the source. We consider the performance of single-photon guns in the context of quantum key distribution (QKD) and linear optical quantum computation. Single-photon sources for QKD need radically different properties than sources for quantum computing. Furthermore, the suitability for single-photon guns is discussed explicitly in terms of experimentally accessible criteria.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures Revised per referee suggestion