On Induction, Coinduction and Equality in Martin-Löf and Homotopy Type Theory
Doktorsavhandling, 2018

Martin Löf Type Theory, having put computation at the center of logical
reasoning, has been shown to be an effective foundation for proof assistants,
with applications both in computer science and constructive mathematics. One
ambition though is for MLTT to also double as a practical general purpose
programming language. Datatypes in type theory come with an induction or
coinduction principle which gives a precise and concise specification of their
interface. However, such principles can interfere with how we would like to
express our programs. In this thesis, we investigate more flexible alternatives
to direct uses of the (co)induction principles.
As a first contribution, we consider the n-truncation of a type in Homo-
topy Type Theory. We derive in HoTT an eliminator into (n+1)-truncated
types instead of n-truncated ones, assuming extra conditions on the underlying
function.
As a second contribution, we improve on type-based criteria for termination
and productivity. By augmenting the types with well-foundedness information,
such criteria allow function definitions in a style closer to general recursion.
We consider two criteria: guarded types, and sized types.
Guarded types introduce a modality ”later” to guard the availability of
recursive calls provided by a general fixed-point combinator. In Guarded Cu-
bical Type Theory we equip the fixed-point combinator with a propositional
equality to its one-step unfolding, instead of a definitional equality that would
break normalization. The notion of path from Cubical Type Theory allows us
to do so without losing canonicity or decidability of conversion.
Sized types, on the other hand, explicitly index datatypes with size bounds
on the height or depth of their elements. The sizes however can get in the
way of the reasoning principles we expect. Our approach is to introduce new
quantifiers for ”irrelevant” size quantification. We present a type theory with
parametric quantifiers where irrelevance arises as a “free theorem”. We also
develop a conversion checking algorithm for a more specific theory where the
new quantifiers are restricted to sizes.
Finally, our third contribution is about the operational semantics of type
theory. For the extensions above we would like to devise a practical conversion
checking algorithm suitable for integration into a proof assistant. We formal-
ized the correctness of such an algorithm for a small but challenging core
calculus, proving that conversion is decidable. We expect this development to
form a good basis to verify more complex theories.
The ideas discussed in this thesis are already influencing the development
of Agda, a proof assistant based on type theory.

Conversion

Parametricity

Higher Inductive Types

Sized Types

Dependent Types

Type Theory

Guarded Types

ED lecture hall, EDIT building, Hörsalsvägen 11, Chalmers
Opponent: Prof. Rasmus Ejlers Møgelberg, Computer Science Department, IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Författare

Andrea Vezzosi

Chalmers, Data- och informationsteknik, Datavetenskap

Decidability of Conversion for Type Theory in Type Theory

Proceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages,; Vol. 2(2018)p. 23:1-23:29

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Parametric quantifiers for dependent type theory

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Normalization by evaluation for sized dependent types

Proceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages,; Vol. 1(2017)p. 33:1--33:3-

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Guarded Cubical Type Theory: Path Equality for Guarded Recursion

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Paper i proceeding

Functions out of Higher Truncations

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Paper i proceeding

A formalized proof of strong normalization for guarded recursive types

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Paper i proceeding

Functional programming came about as a paradigm where programs are
thought of not as a list of instructions for a machine to perform but
rather as something closer to mathematical functions. In this paradigm
new programming idioms emerged from the ability to manipulate
functions, and hence programs, as any other kind of data.

Martin Löf Type Theory (MLTT) goes one step further in this connection
to mathematical functions by requiring that programs always give a
result and never throw an error or get stuck in a loop; such functions
are called total. Therefore any total function that returns sufficient
evidence that some property is true can then be considered a formal
proof of that property. Tools based on MLTT have made use of this
ability to express proofs as total programs to formally establish
results in mathematics and computer science.

To only allow programs that are total such tools have to be
conservative and unfortunately end up rejecting even valid ones. Among
the wrongly rejected programs are often those relying on the idioms of
functional programming, because they tend to require a more extensive
analysis than others to determine whether they will eventually produce
a result.

In this thesis we explore ways to guarantee totality that offer more
flexibility by using the expressivity of MLTT and its extensions to
more closely characterize the behavior of programs so that even hard
to analyze ones can be accepted as total.

Ämneskategorier

Algebra och logik

Datavetenskap (datalogi)

Fundament

Grundläggande vetenskaper

ISBN

978-91-7597-772-0

Doktorsavhandlingar vid Chalmers tekniska högskola. Ny serie: 4453

Utgivare

Chalmers

ED lecture hall, EDIT building, Hörsalsvägen 11, Chalmers

Opponent: Prof. Rasmus Ejlers Møgelberg, Computer Science Department, IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Mer information

Senast uppdaterat

2018-08-08