Continuation-Passing C: compiling threads to events through continuations

In this paper, we introduce Continuation Passing C (CPC), a programming language for concurrent systems in which native and cooperative threads are unified and presented to the programmer as a single abstraction. The CPC compiler uses a compilation technique, based on the CPS transform, that yields efficient code and an extremely lightweight representation for contexts. We provide a proof of the correctness of our compilation scheme. We show in particular that lambda-lifting, a common compilation technique for functional languages, is also correct in an imperative language like C, under some conditions enforced by the CPC compiler. The current CPC compiler is mature enough to write substantial programs such as Hekate, a highly concurrent BitTorrent seeder. Our benchmark results show that CPC is as efficient, while using significantly less space, as the most efficient thread libraries available.Comment: Higher-Order and Symbolic Computation (2012). arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1202.324

Preciseness of Subtyping on Intersection and Union Types

Abstract. The notion of subtyping has gained an important role both in theoretical and applicative domains: in lambda and concurrent calculi as well as in programming languages. The soundness and the complete-ness, together referred to as the preciseness of subtyping, can be consid-ered from two different points of view: denotational and operational. The former preciseness is based on the denotation of a type which is a math-ematical object that describes the meaning of the type in accordance with the denotations of other expressions from the language. The latter preciseness has been recently developed with respect to type safety, i.e. the safe replacement of a term of a smaller type when a term of a bigger type is expected. We propose a technique for formalising and proving operational pre-ciseness of the subtyping relation in the setting of a concurrent lambda calculus with intersection and union types. The key feature is the link between typings and the operational semantics. We then prove sound-ness and completeness getting that the subtyping relation of this calculus enjoys both denotational and operational preciseness.

Needle & knot : binder boilerplate tied up

To lighten the burden of programming language mechanization, many approaches have been developed that tackle the substantial boilerplate which arises from variable binders. Unfortunately, the existing approaches are limited in scope. They typically do not support complex binding forms (such as multi-binders) that arise in more advanced languages, or they do not tackle the boilerplate due to mentioning variables and binders in relations. As a consequence, the human mechanizer is still unnecessarily burdened with binder boilerplate and discouraged from taking on richer languages. This paper presents Knot, a new approach that substantially extends the support for binder boilerplate. Knot is a highly expressive language for natural and concise specification of syntax with binders. Its meta-theory constructively guarantees the coverage of a considerable amount of binder boilerplate for well-formed specifications, including that for well-scoping of terms and context lookups. Knot also comes with a code generator, Needle, that specializes the generic boilerplate for convenient embedding in COQ and provides a tactic library for automatically discharging proof obligations that frequently come up in proofs of weakening and substitution lemmas of type-systems. Our evaluation shows, that Needle & Knot significantly reduce the size of language mechanizations (by 40% in our case study). Moreover, as far as we know, Knot enables the most concise mechanization of the POPLmark Challenge (1a + 2a) and is two-thirds the size of the next smallest. Finally, Knot allows us to mechanize for instance dependentlytyped languages, which is notoriously challenging because of dependent contexts and mutually-recursive sorts with variables

Objective ML: An effective object-oriented extension to ML

Objective ML is a small practical extension to ML with objects and top level classes. It is fully compatible with ML; its type system is based on ML polymorphism, record types with polymorphic access, and a better treatment of type abbreviations. Objective ML allows for most features of object-oriented languages including multiple inheritance, methods returning self and binary methods as well as parametric classes. This demonstrates that objects can be added to strongly typed languages based on ML polymorphism

Managing the complexity of large free and open source package-based software distributions

The widespread adoption of free and open source software (FOSS) in many strategic contexts of the information technology society has drawn the attention on the issues regarding how to handle the complexity of assembling and managing a huge number of (packaged) components in a consistent and effective way. FOSS distributions (and in particular GNU/Linux-based ones) have always provided tools for managing the tasks of installing, removing and upgrading the (packaged) components they were made of While these tools provide a (not always effective) way to handle these tasks on the client side, there is still a lack of tools that could help the distribution editors to maintain, on the server side, large and high-quality distributions. In this paper we present our research whose main goal is to fill this gap: we show our approach, the tools we have developed and their application with experimental results. Our contribution provides an effective and automatic way to support distribution editors in handling those issues that were, until now, mostly addressed using ad-hoc tools and manual technique

IOS Press Untyped Algorithmic Equality for Martin-Löf’s Logical Framework with Surjective Pairs

Abstract. Martin-Löf’s Logical Framework is extended by strong Σ-types and presented via judgmental equality with rules for extensionality and surjective pairing. Soundness of the framework rules is proven via a generic PER model on untyped terms. An algorithmic version of the framework is given through an untyped βη-equality test and a bidirectional type checking algorithm. Completeness is proven by instantiating the PER model with η-equality on β-normal forms, which is shown equivalent to the algorithmic equality. 1