Proof Of Strong Normalization Research Articles

Strongly-Normalizing Higher-Order Relational Queries

Language-integrated query is a powerful programming construct allowing database queries and ordinary program code to interoperate seamlessly and safely. Language-integrated query techniques rely on classical results about the nested relational calculus, stating that its queries can be algorithmically translated to SQL, as long as their result type is a flat relation. Cooper and others advocated higher-order nested relational calculi as a basis for language-integrated queries in functional languages such as Links and F#. However, the translation of higher-order relational queries to SQL relies on a rewrite system for which no strong normalization proof has been published: a previous proof attempt does not deal correctly with rewrite rules that duplicate subterms. This paper fills the gap in the literature, explaining the difficulty with a previous proof attempt, and showing how to extend the $\top\top$-lifting approach of Lindley and Stark to accommodate duplicating rewrites. We also show how to extend the proof to a recently-introduced calculus for heterogeneous queries mixing set and multiset semantics.

Strong Normalization for the Simply-Typed Lambda Calculus in Constructive Type Theory Using Agda

We consider a pre-existing formalization in Constructive Type Theory of the pure Lambda Calculus in its presentation in first order syntax with only one sort of names and alpha-conversion based upon multiple substitution, as well as of the system of assignment of simple types to terms. On top of it, we formalize a slick proof of strong normalization given by Joachimski and Matthes whose main lemma proceeds by complete induction on types and subordinate induction on a characterization of the strongly normalizing terms which is in turn proven sound with respect to their direct definition as the accessible part of the relation of one-step beta reduction. The proof of strong normalization itself is thereby allowed to consist just of a direct induction on the type system. The whole development has been machine-checked using the system Agda. We assess merits and drawbacks of the approach.

How to prove decidability of equational theories with second-order computation analyser SOL

Abstract We present a general methodology of proving the decidability of equational theory of programming language concepts in the framework of second-order algebraic theories. We propose a Haskell-based analysis tool, i.e. Second-Order Laboratory, which assists the proofs of confluence and strong normalisation of computation rules derived from second-order algebraic theories. To cover various examples in programming language theory, we combine and extend both syntactical and semantical results of the second-order computation in a non-trivial manner. We demonstrate how to prove decidability of various algebraic theories in the literature. It includes the equational theories of monad and λ-calculi, Plotkin and Power’s theory of states and bits, and Stark’s theory of π-calculus. We also demonstrate how this methodology can solve the coherence of monoidal categories.

How to prove your calculus is decidable: practical applications of second-order algebraic theories and computation

We present a general methodology of proving the decidability of equational theory of programming language concepts in the framework of second-order algebraic theories. We propose a Haskell-based analysis tool SOL, Second-Order Laboratory, which assists the proofs of confluence and strong normalisation of computation rules derived from second-order algebraic theories. To cover various examples in programming language theory, we combine and extend both syntactical and semantical results of second-order computation in a non-trivial manner. We demonstrate how to prove decidability of various algebraic theories in the literature. It includes the equational theories of monad and lambda-calculi, Plotkin and Power's theory of states, and Stark's theory of pi-calculus.

Linear β-reduction

Linear head reduction is a key tool for the analysis of reduction machines for lambda-calculus and for game semantics. Its definition requires a notion of redex at a distance named primary redex in the literature. Nevertheless, a clear and complete syntactic analysis of this rule is missing. We present here a general notion of beta-reduction at a distance and of linear reduction (i.e., not restricted to the head variable), and we analyse their relations and properties. This analysis rests on a variant of the so-called sigma-equivalence that is more suitable for the analysis of reduction machines, since the position along the spine of primary redexes is not permuted. We finally show that, in the simply typed case, the proof of strong normalisation of linear reduction can be obtained by a trivial tuning of Gandy's proof for strong normalisation of beta-reduction.

Elementary Proof of Strong Normalization for Atomic F

We give an elementary proof (in the sense that it is formalizable in Peano arithmetic) of the strong normalization of the atomic polymorphic calculus Fat (a predicative restriction of Girard’s system F).

A semantic account of strong normalization in linear logic

We prove that given two cut-free nets of linear logic, by means of their relational interpretations one can determine: 1) whether or not the net obtained by cutting the two nets is strongly normalizable, 2) (in case it is strongly normalizable) the maximum length of the reduction sequences starting from that net. As a by-product of our semantic approach, we obtain a new proof of the conservation theorem for Multiplicative Exponential Linear Logic (MELL) which does not rely on confluence; this yields an alternative proof of strong normalization for MELL.

Well-founded recursion with copatterns and sized types

AbstractIn this paper, we study strong normalization of a core language based on System ${\mathsf{F}_\omega}$ which supports programming with finite and infinite structures. Finite data such as finite lists and trees is defined via constructors and manipulated via pattern matching, while infinite data such as streams and infinite trees is defined by observations and synthesized via copattern matching. Taking a type-based approach to strong normalization, we track size information about finite and infinite data in the type. We exploit the duality of pattern and copatterns to give a unifying semantic framework which allows us to elegantly and uniformly support both well-founded induction and coinduction by rewriting. The strong normalization proof is structured around Girard's reducibility candidates. As such, our system allows for non-determinism and does not rely on coverage. Since System ${\mathsf{F}_\omega}$ is general enough that it can be the target of compilation for the Calculus of Constructions, this work is a significant step towards representing observation-based infinite data in proof assistants such as Coq and Agda.

The dagger lambda calculus

We present a novel lambda calculus that casts the categorical approach to the study of quantum protocols into the rich and well established tradition of type theory. Our construction extends the linear typed lambda calculus with a linear negation of "trivialised" De Morgan duality. Reduction is realised through explicit substitution, based on a symmetric notion of binding of global scope, with rules acting on the entire typing judgement instead of on a specific subterm. Proofs of subject reduction, confluence, strong normalisation and consistency are provided, and the language is shown to be an internal language for dagger compact categories.

Fair reactive programming

Functional Reactive Programming (FRP) models reactive systems with events and signals, which have previously been observed to correspond to the "eventually" and "always" modalities of linear temporal logic (LTL). In this paper, we define a constructive variant of LTL with least fixed point and greatest fixed point operators in the spirit of the modal mu-calculus, and give it a proofs-as-programs interpretation as a foundational calculus for reactive programs. Previous work emphasized the propositions-as-types part of the correspondence between LTL and FRP; here we emphasize the proofs-as-programs part by employing structural proof theory. We show that the type system is expressive enough to enforce liveness properties such as the fairness of schedulers and the eventual delivery of results. We illustrate programming in this calculus using (co)iteration operators. We prove type preservation of our operational semantics, which guarantees that our programs are causal. We give also a proof of strong normalization which provides justification that our programs are productive and that they satisfy liveness properties derived from their types.

Wellfounded recursion with copatterns

In this paper, we study strong normalization of a core language based on System F-omega which supports programming with finite and infinite structures. Building on our prior work, finite data such as finite lists and trees are defined via constructors and manipulated via pattern matching, while infinite data such as streams and infinite trees is defined by observations and synthesized via copattern matching. In this work, we take a type-based approach to strong normalization by tracking size information about finite and infinite data in the type. This guarantees compositionality. More importantly, the duality of pattern and copatterns provide a unifying semantic concept which allows us for the first time to elegantly and uniformly support both well-founded induction and coinduction by mere rewriting. The strong normalization proof is structured around Girard's reducibility candidates. As such our system allows for non-determinism and does not rely on coverage. Since System F-omega is general enough that it can be the target of compilation for the Calculus of Constructions, this work is a significant step towards representing observation-centric infinite data in proof assistants such as Coq and Agda.

Strong Normalization for HA + EM1 by Non-Deterministic Choice

We study the strong normalization of a new Curry-Howard correspondence for HA + EM1, constructive Heyting Arithmetic with the excluded middle on Sigma01-formulas. The proof-term language of HA + EM1 consists in the lambda calculus plus an operator ||_a which represents, from the viewpoint of programming, an exception operator with a delimited scope, and from the viewpoint of logic, a restricted version of the excluded middle. We give a strong normalization proof for the system based on a technique of "non-deterministic immersion".

Characterisation of Strongly Normalising lambda-mu-Terms

We provide a characterisation of strongly normalising terms of the lambda-mu-calculus by means of a type system that uses intersection and product types. The presence of the latter and a restricted use of the type omega enable us to represent the particular notion of continuation used in the literature for the definition of semantics for the lambda-mu-calculus. This makes it possible to lift the well-known characterisation property for strongly-normalising lambda-terms - that uses intersection types - to the lambda-mu-calculus. From this result an alternative proof of strong normalisation for terms typeable in Parigot's propositional logical system follows, by means of an interpretation of that system into ours.

Atomic polymorphism

AbstractIt has been known for six years that the restriction of Girard's polymorphic system F to atomic universal instantiations interprets the full fragment of the intuitionistic propositional calculus. We firstly observe that Tait's method of “convertibility” applies quite naturally to the proof of strong normalization of the restricted Girard system. We then show that each β-reduction step of the full intuitionistic propositional calculus translates into one or more βη-reduction steps in the restricted Girard system. As a consequence, we obtain a novel and perspicuous proof of the strong normalization property for the full intuitionistic propositional calculus. It is noticed that this novel proof bestows a crucial role to η-conversions.

Monadic translation of classical sequent calculus

We study monadic translations of the call-by-name (cbn) and call-by-value (cbv) fragments of the classical sequent calculus ${\overline{\lambda}\mu\tilde{\mu}}$ due to Curien and Herbelin, and give modular and syntactic proofs of strong normalisation. The target of the translations is a new meta-language for classical logic, named monadic λμ. This language is a monadic reworking of Parigot's λμ-calculus, where the monadic binding is confined to commands, thus integrating the monad with the classical features. Also, its μ-reduction rule is replaced by a rule expressing the interaction between monadic binding and μ-abstraction.Our monadic translations produce very tight simulations of the respective fragments of ${\overline{\lambda}\mu\tilde{\mu}}$ within monadic λμ, with reduction steps of ${\overline{\lambda}\mu\tilde{\mu}}$ being translated in a 1–1 fashion, except for β steps, which require two steps. The monad of monadic λμ can be instantiated to the continuations monad so as to ensure strict simulation of monadic λμ within simply typed λ-calculus with β- and η-reduction. Through strict simulation, the strong normalisation of simply typed λ-calculus is inherited by monadic λμ, and then by cbn and cbv ${\overline{\lambda}\mu\tilde{\mu}}$, thus reproving strong normalisation in an elementary syntactical way for these fragments of ${\overline{\lambda}\mu\tilde{\mu}}$, and establishing it for our new calculus. These results extend to second-order logic, with polymorphic λ-calculus as the target, giving new strong normalisation results for classical second-order logic in sequent calculus style.CPS translations of cbn and cbv ${\overline{\lambda}\mu\tilde{\mu}}$ with the strict simulation property are obtained by composing our monadic translations with the continuations-monad instantiation. In an appendix to the paper, we investigate several refinements of the continuations-monad instantiation in order to obtain in a modular way improvements of the CPS translations enjoying extra properties like simulation by cbv β-reduction or reduction of administrative redexes at compile time.

Pure type systems with corecursion on streams

In this paper, we use types for ensuring that programs involving streams are well-behaved. We extend pure type systems with a type constructor for streams , a modal operator next and a fixed point operator for expressing corecursion . This extension is called Pure Type Systems with Corecursion (CoPTS). The typed lambda calculus for reactive programs defined by Krishnaswami and Benton can be obtained as a CoPTS. CoPTSs allow us to study a wide range of typed lambda calculi extended with corecursion using only one framework. In particular, we study this extension for the calculus of constructions which is the underlying formal language of Coq. We use the machinery of infinitary rewriting and formalise the idea of well-behaved programs using the concept of infinitary normalisation. The set of finite and infinite terms is defined as a metric completion. We establish a precise connection between the modal operator (• A ) and the metric at a syntactic level by relating a variable of type (• A ) with the depth of all its occurrences in a term. This syntactic connection between the modal operator and the depth is the key to the proofs of infinitary weak and strong normalisation.

The [formula omitted]-calculus

Calculi with control operators have been studied as extensions of simple type theory. Real programming languages contain datatypes, so to really understand control operators, one should also include these in the calculus. As a first step in that direction, we introduce λμT, a combination of Parigotʼs λμ-calculus and Gödelʼs T, to extend a calculus with control operators with a datatype of natural numbers with a primitive recursor.We consider the problem of confluence on raw terms, and that of strong normalization for the well-typed terms. Observing some problems with extending the proofs of Baba et al. and Parigotʼs original confluence proof, we provide new, and improved, proofs of confluence (by complete developments) and strong normalization (by reducibility and a postponement argument) for our system.We conclude with some remarks about extensions, choices, and prospects for an improved presentation.

Justification Logic as a foundation for certifying mobile computation

We explore an intuitionistic fragment of Artëmov’s Justification Logic as a type system for a programming language for mobile units. Such units consist of both a code and a certificate component. Our language, the Certifying Mobile Calculus, caters for code and certificate development in a unified theory. In the same way that mobile code is constructed out of code components and extant type systems track local resource usage to ensure the mobile nature of these components, our system additionally ensures correct certificate construction out of certificate components. We present proofs of type safety and strong normalization for a run-time system based on an abstract machine.

Strong normalization property for second order linear logic

The paper contains the first complete proof of strong normalization (SN) for full second order linear logic (LL): Girard’s original proof uses a standardization theorem which is not proven. We introduce sliced pure structures (sps), a very general version of Girard’s proof-nets, and we apply to sps Gandy’s method to infer SN from weak normalization (WN). We prove a standardization theorem for sps: if WN without erasing steps holds for an sps, then it enjoys SN. A key step in our proof of standardization is a confluence theorem for sps obtained by using only a very weak form of correctness, namely acyclicity slice by slice. We conclude by showing how standardization for sps allows to prove SN of LL, using as usual Girard’s reducibility candidates.

Continuation-Passing Style and Strong Normalisation for Intuitionistic Sequent Calculi

The intuitionistic fragment of the call-by-name version of Curien and Herbelin's \lambda\_mu\_{\~mu}-calculus is isolated and proved strongly normalising by means of an embedding into the simply-typed lambda-calculus. Our embedding is a continuation-and-garbage-passing style translation, the inspiring idea coming from Ikeda and Nakazawa's translation of Parigot's \lambda\_mu-calculus. The embedding strictly simulates reductions while usual continuation-passing-style transformations erase permutative reduction steps. For our intuitionistic sequent calculus, we even only need "units of garbage" to be passed. We apply the same method to other calculi, namely successive extensions of the simply-typed λ-calculus leading to our intuitionistic system, and already for the simplest extension we consider (λ-calculus with generalised application), this yields the first proof of strong normalisation through a reduction-preserving embedding. The results obtained extend to second and higher-order calculi.