This paper gives some sufficient conditions for admissible rules to be derivable in intuitionistic propositional calculus. For example, if the premises are Harrop formulas, the rule is admissible only if it is derivable.

In deriving the results, a particular class of substitutes is introduced, which are also useful when dealing with other questions of admissibility.

Distributive category theory is the study of categories with two monoidal structures, one of which “distributes” over the other in some manner. When these are the product and coproduct, this distribution is taken to be the law

which asserts that the obvious canonical map has an inverse. A distributive category is here taken to mean a category with finite products and binary coproducts such that this law is satisfied.

In any distributive category the coproduct of the final object with itself, 1 + 1, forms a boolean algebra. Thus, maps into 1 + 1 provide a boolean logic: if each such map recognizes a unique subobject, the category is a recognizable distributive category. If, furthermore, the category is such that these recognizers classify detachable subobjects (coproduct embeddings), it is an extensive distributive category.

Extensive distributive categories can be approached in various ways. For example, recognizable distributive categories, in which coproducts are disjoint or all preinitials are isomorphic, are extensive. Also, a category X having finite products and binary coproducts satisfying the slice equation (due to Schanuel and Lawvere) is extensive. This paper describes a series of embedding theorems. Any distributive category has a full faithful embedding into a recognizable distributive category. Any recognizable distributive category can be "solidified" faithfully to produce an extensive distributive category. Any extensive distributive category can be embedded into a topos.

A peculiar source of extensive distributive categories is the coproduct completion of categories with familial finite products. In particular, this includes the coproduct completion of cartesian categories, which is serendipitously, therefore, also the distributive completion. Familial distributive categories can be characterized as distributive categories for which every object has a finite decomposition into indecomposables.

We show that, aside from the semiring equations, three equations and two equation schemes characterize the semiring of regular sets with the Kleene star operation.

We present a new model of classical linear logic based on the notion of strong stability that was introduced recently in a work about sequentiality written jointly with Antonio Bucciarelli.

In the theory of denotational semantics of programming languages, several authors have constructed various kinds of universal domains. We present here a categorical generalization of a well-known result in model theory, which we use to characterize large classes of reasonable categories that contain universal homogeneous objects. The existence of such objects is characterized by the condition that the finite objects in the category satisfy the amalgamation property. We derive from this the existence and uniqueness of universal homogeneous domains for several categories of bifinite domains, with embedding-projection-pairs as morphisms. We also obtain universal homogeneous objects for various categories of stable bifinite domains. In contrast, several categories of event domains and concrete domains and the category of all coherent Scott-domains do not contain universal homogeneous objects. Finally, we show that all our constructions can be performed effectively.

We focus attention on a language ℒ generated by a set of elementary actions under operations of sequential composition, external binary choice, iteration, and non-nested disjoint parallel composition: that is, on an especially simple parallel language without explicit internal, or ‘local’, nondeterminism. ℒ is nondeterministic, despite the restriction to external choice, since a given action may occur in both subterms F and G of the parallel composition F ║ G. We exhibit a single set of equations that axiomatizes both step bisimulation and pomset equivalence on ℒ Given that step bisimulation and pomset equivalence are incomparable on the language ℒ+ obtained from ℒ by relaxing just the constraint on choice, the coincidence of these equivalences on ℒ suggests that the elimination of explicit internal choice can result in simplifications at the semantic level. We reinforce this impression by showing for ℒ that step bisimulation (i) coincides with pomset bisimulation equivalence, (ii) is real-time consistent, and (iii) has step trees as concrete representatives of its equivalence classes. Moreover, we show that none of these results holds for the language ℒ+ Finally, step trace equivalence is proved not to coincide with step bisimulation equivalence on ℒ.

Type theory allows us to extract from a constructive proof that a specification is satisfiable a program that satisfies the specification. Algorithms for optimization of such programs are currently the object of research.

In this paper we consider one such algorithm, which was described in Beeson (1985) and which we will call ‘Harrop’. This algorithm greatly simplifies programs extracted from proofs in the Pure Construction Calculus. We use a Partial Equivalence Relation model for higher order lambda calculus, to check that t and Harrop(t) return the same outputs from the same inputs, i.e. that they are extensionally equal.

As a corollary, we show that it is correct (and, of course, useful) to replace a program t with Harrop(t). Such a correctness result has already been proved by Möhring (Möhring 1989a, 1989b) using realizability semantics, but we obtain it as a corollary of a new result, the extensional equality between t and Harrop(t). Also the semantic method we use is interesting in its own right.

We examine the problem of finding fully abstract translations between programming languages, i.e., translations that preserve code equivalence and nonequivalence. We present three examples of fully abstract translations: one from call-by-value to lazy PCF, one from call-by-name to call-by-value PCF, and one from lazy to call-by-value PCF. The translations yield lower bounds on decision procedures for proving equivalences of code. We define a notion of ‘functional translation’ that captures the essence of the proofs of full abstraction, and show that some languages cannot be translated into others.

This paper tackles the problem of constructing a compact, point-free proof of the associativity of demonic composition of binary relations and its distributivity through demonic choice. In order to achieve this goal, a definition of demonic composition is proposed in which angelic composition is restricted by means of a so-called ‘monotype factor’. Monotype factors are characterised by a Galois connection similar to the Galois connection between composition and factorisation of binary relations. The identification of such a connection is argued to be highly conducive to the desired compactness of calculation.

The study of type theory may offer a uniform language for modular programming, structured specification and logical reasoning. We develop an approach to program specification and data refinement in a type theory with a strong logical power and nice structural mechanisms to show that it provides an adequate formalism for modular development of programs and specifications. Specification of abstract data types is considered, and a notion of abstract implementation between specifications is defined in the type theory and studied as a basis for correct and modular development of programs by stepwise refinement. The higher-order structural mechanisms in the type theory provide useful and flexible tools (specification operations and parameterized specifications) for modular design and structured specification. Refinement maps (programs and design decisions) and proofs of implementation correctness can be developed by means of the existing proof development systems based on type theories.

Various notions of observing and testing processes are placed in a uniform algebraic framework in which observations are taken as constituting a quantale. General completeness criteria are stated, and proved in our applications.

We present an algebraic approach to the syntax and semantics of Martin-Löf type theory and the calculus of constructions developed by T. Coquand and G. Huet. In our approach, models of this theory and this calculus are treated as three-sorted partial algebras, called ITSΠ-structures, described by essentially algebraic theories. We give a proof that derived statements of Martin-Löf type theory hold in appropriate ITSΠ-structures. In this proof, a formal translation from the language of terms and types into the language of terms of an appropriate essentially algebraic theory of ITSΠ-structures is used. A straightforward set-theoretic construction of ITSΠ-structures that are models of Martin-Löf type theory is demonstrated. We present a construction of a recursive ITSΠ-structure (i.e. its partial and total operations are recursive functions over some alphabet) that is a model of the calculus of constructions and demonstrates the decidability of this calculus.

Two imperative programming language phrases interfere when one writes to a storage variable that the other reads from or writes to. Reynolds has described an elegant linguistic approach to controlling interference in which a refinement of typed λ-calculus is used to limit sharing of storage variables; in particular, different identifiers are required never to interfere. This paper examines semantic foundations of the approach.

We describe a category that has (an abstraction of) interference information built into all objects and maps. This information is used to define a ‘tensor’ product whose components are required never to interfere. Environments are defined using the tensor, and procedure types are obtained via a suitable adjunction. The category is a model of intuitionistic linear logic. Reynolds' concept of passive type - i.e. types for phrases that do not write to any storage variables - is shown to be closely related, in this model, to Girard's ‘of course’ modality.

The notion of semi-functor was introduced in Hayashi (1985) in order to make possible a category-theoretical characterization of models of the non-extensional typed lambda calculus. Motivated by the further use of semi-functors in Martini (1987), Jacobs (1991) and Hoofman (1992a), (1992b) and (1992c), we consider the general theory of semi-functors in this paper. It turns out that the notion of semi natural transformation plays an important part in this theory, and that various categorical notions involving semi-functors can be viewed as 2-categorical notions in the 2-category of categories, semi-functors and semi natural transformations. In particular, we find that the notion of normal semi-adjunction as defined in Hayashi (1985) is the canonical generalization of the notion of adjunction to the world of semi-functors. Further topics covered in this paper are the relation between semi-functors and splittings, the Karoubi envelope construction, semi-comonads, and a semi-adjoint functor theorem.

Least fixpoints are constructed for finite coproducts of definable endofunctors of Cartesian closed categories that have weak polynomial products and joint equalizers of arbitrary families of pairs of parallel arrows. Both conditions hold in PER, the category whose objects are partial equivalence relations on N, and whose arrows are partial recursive functions. Weak polynomial products exist in any cartesian closed category with a finite number of objects as well as in any model of second order polymorphic lambda calculus: that is, in the proof theory of any second order positive intuitionistic propositional calculus, but such a category need not have equalizers. However, any finite coproduct of definable endofunctors of a cartesian closed category with weak polynomial products will have a least fixpoint in a larger category with equalizers whose objects are right ideals (or sieves) of modulo certain congruence relations, and whose arrows are induced from .

This paper introduces the following new constructions on stable domains and event structures: the tensor product; the linear function space; and the exponential. These give rise to a monoidal closed category of dI-domains and to stable event structures, which can be used to interpret intuitionistic linear logic. Finally, the usefulness of the category of stable event structures for modeling concurrency and its relation to other models are discussed.