An Introduction to Lambda Calculi for Computer Scientists

An Introduction to Lambda Calculi for Computer Scientists PDF Author: Chris Hankin
Publisher: College Publications
ISBN: 9780954300654
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 164

Get Book Here

Book Description
The lambda-calculus lies at the very foundations of computer science. Besides its historical role in computability theory it has had significant influence on programming language design and implementation, denotational semantics, and domain theory. The book emphasises the proof theory for the type-free lambda-calculus. The first six chapters concern this calculus and cover the basic theory, reduction, models, computability, and the relationship between the lambda-calculus and combinatory logic. Chapter 7 presents a variety of typed calculi; first the simply typed lambda-calculus, then Milner-style polymorphism and, finally, the polymorphic lambda-calculus. Chapter 8 concerns two variants of the type-free lambda-calculus that have appeared in the research literature: the lazy lambda-calculus, and the lambda sigma-calculus. The final chapter contains references and a guide to further reading. There are exercises throughout. In contrast to earlier books on these topics, which were written by logicians, this book is written from a computer science perspective and emphasises the practical relevance of many of the key theoretical ideas. The book is intended as a course text for final year undergraduates or first year graduate students in computer science. Research students should find it a useful introduction to more specialist literature.

Lambda Calculi

Lambda Calculi PDF Author: Chris Hankin
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 184

Get Book Here

Book Description
This is a textbook for final year undergraduates/first year graduates in computer science, as well as a useful introduction for research students seeking a solid introduction to more specialist literature. This text emphasises the role of calculus in programming language design and implementation, denotational semantics, and domain theory. Alternative books on the subject have been written by logicians, but this is the first to have been written from a computer science prespective, invaluable in emphasising the practical relevance of the key theortical ideas.

Domains and Lambda-Calculi

Domains and Lambda-Calculi PDF Author: Roberto M. Amadio
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521622778
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 504

Get Book Here

Book Description
Graduate text on mathematical foundations of programming languages, and operational and denotational semantics.

Basic Category Theory for Computer Scientists

Basic Category Theory for Computer Scientists PDF Author: Benjamin C. Pierce
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262326450
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 117

Get Book Here

Book Description
Basic Category Theory for Computer Scientists provides a straightforward presentation of the basic constructions and terminology of category theory, including limits, functors, natural transformations, adjoints, and cartesian closed categories. Category theory is a branch of pure mathematics that is becoming an increasingly important tool in theoretical computer science, especially in programming language semantics, domain theory, and concurrency, where it is already a standard language of discourse. Assuming a minimum of mathematical preparation, Basic Category Theory for Computer Scientists provides a straightforward presentation of the basic constructions and terminology of category theory, including limits, functors, natural transformations, adjoints, and cartesian closed categories. Four case studies illustrate applications of category theory to programming language design, semantics, and the solution of recursive domain equations. A brief literature survey offers suggestions for further study in more advanced texts. Contents Tutorial • Applications • Further Reading

Lambda-Calculus and Combinators

Lambda-Calculus and Combinators PDF Author: J. Roger Hindley
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521898850
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 358

Get Book Here

Book Description
Combinatory logic and lambda-calculus, originally devised in the 1920's, have since developed into linguistic tools, especially useful in programming languages. The authors' previous book served as the main reference for introductory courses on lambda-calculus for over 20 years: this long-awaited new version is thoroughly revised and offers a fully up-to-date account of the subject, with the same authoritative exposition. The grammar and basic properties of both combinatory logic and lambda-calculus are discussed, followed by an introduction to type-theory. Typed and untyped versions of the systems, and their differences, are covered. Lambda-calculus models, which lie behind much of the semantics of programming languages, are also explained in depth. The treatment is as non-technical as possible, with the main ideas emphasized and illustrated by examples. Many exercises are included, from routine to advanced, with solutions to most at the end of the book.

Introduction to Mathematical Logic

Introduction to Mathematical Logic PDF Author: Alonzo Church
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 9780691029061
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 396

Get Book Here

Book Description
A classic account of mathematical logic from a pioneering giant in the field Logic is sometimes called the foundation of mathematics: the logician studies the kinds of reasoning used in the individual steps of a proof. Alonzo Church was a pioneer in the field of mathematical logic, whose contributions to number theory and the theories of algorithms and computability laid the theoretical foundations of computer science. His first Princeton book, The Calculi of Lambda-Conversion (1941), established an invaluable tool that computer scientists still use today. Even beyond the accomplishment of that book, however, his second Princeton book, Introduction to Mathematical Logic, defined its subject for a generation. Originally published in Princeton's Annals of Mathematics Studies series, this book was revised in 1956 and reprinted a third time, in 1996, in the Princeton Landmarks in Mathematics series. Although new results in mathematical logic have been developed and other textbooks have been published, it remains, sixty years later, a basic source for understanding formal logic. Church was one of the principal founders of the Association for Symbolic Logic; he founded the Journal of Symbolic Logic in 1936 and remained an editor until 1979. At his death in 1995, Church was still regarded as the greatest mathematical logician in the world.

Basic Simple Type Theory

Basic Simple Type Theory PDF Author: J. Roger Hindley
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521465184
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 200

Get Book Here

Book Description
Type theory is one of the most important tools in the design of higher-level programming languages, such as ML. This book introduces and teaches its techniques by focusing on one particularly neat system and studying it in detail. By concentrating on the principles that make the theory work in practice, the author covers all the key ideas without getting involved in the complications of more advanced systems. This book takes a type-assignment approach to type theory, and the system considered is the simplest polymorphic one. The author covers all the basic ideas, including the system's relation to propositional logic, and gives a careful treatment of the type-checking algorithm that lies at the heart of every such system. Also featured are two other interesting algorithms that until now have been buried in inaccessible technical literature. The mathematical presentation is rigorous but clear, making it the first book at this level that can be used as an introduction to type theory for computer scientists.

Categories, Types, and Structures

Categories, Types, and Structures PDF Author: Andrea Asperti
Publisher: MIT Press (MA)
ISBN:
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 330

Get Book Here

Book Description
Category theory is a mathematical subject whose importance in several areas of computer science, most notably the semantics of programming languages and the design of programmes using abstract data types, is widely acknowledged. This book introduces category theory at a level appropriate for computer scientists and provides practical examples in the context of programming language design.

Central European Functional Programming School

Central European Functional Programming School PDF Author: Zoltán Horváth
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3540880585
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 309

Get Book Here

Book Description
This volume presents eight carefully revised texts from selected lectures given by leading researchers at the Second Central European Functional Programming School, CEFP 2007, held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, in June 2007. The eight revised full papers presented were carefully selected during two rounds of reviewing and improvement for inclusion in the book. The lectures cover a wide range of topics such as interactive workflows, lazy functional programs, lambda calculus, and object-oriented functional programming.

The Formal Semantics of Programming Languages

The Formal Semantics of Programming Languages PDF Author: Glynn Winskel
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262731034
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 388

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Formal Semantics of Programming Languages provides the basic mathematical techniques necessary for those who are beginning a study of the semantics and logics of programming languages. These techniques will allow students to invent, formalize, and justify rules with which to reason about a variety of programming languages. Although the treatment is elementary, several of the topics covered are drawn from recent research, including the vital area of concurency. The book contains many exercises ranging from simple to miniprojects.Starting with basic set theory, structural operational semantics is introduced as a way to define the meaning of programming languages along with associated proof techniques. Denotational and axiomatic semantics are illustrated on a simple language of while-programs, and fall proofs are given of the equivalence of the operational and denotational semantics and soundness and relative completeness of the axiomatic semantics. A proof of Godel's incompleteness theorem, which emphasizes the impossibility of achieving a fully complete axiomatic semantics, is included. It is supported by an appendix providing an introduction to the theory of computability based on while-programs. Following a presentation of domain theory, the semantics and methods of proof for several functional languages are treated. The simplest language is that of recursion equations with both call-by-value and call-by-name evaluation. This work is extended to lan guages with higher and recursive types, including a treatment of the eager and lazy lambda-calculi. Throughout, the relationship between denotational and operational semantics is stressed, and the proofs of the correspondence between the operation and denotational semantics are provided. The treatment of recursive types - one of the more advanced parts of the book - relies on the use of information systems to represent domains. The book concludes with a chapter on parallel programming languages, accompanied by a discussion of methods for specifying and verifying nondeterministic and parallel programs.