Generalized algebraic data types (GADTs), sometimes known as “guarded recursive data types ” or “first-class phantom types”, are a simple but powerful generalization of the data types of Haskell and ML. Recent works have given compelling examples of the utility of GADTs, although type inference is known to be difficult. Our contribution is to show how to exploit programmer-supplied type annotations to make the type inference task almost embarrassingly easy. Our main technical innovation is wobbly types, which express in a declarative way the uncertainty caused by the incremental nature of typical type-inference algorithms.

We introduce System FC, which extends System F with support for non-syntactic type equality. There are two main extensions: (i) explicit witnesses for type equalities, and (ii) open, non-parametric type functions, given meaning by toplevel equality axioms. Unlike System F, FC is expressive enough to serve as a target for several different source-language features, including Haskell’s newtype, generalised algebraic data types, associated types, functional dependencies, and perhaps more besides.

We report on an extension of Haskell with open type-level functions and equality constraints that unifies earlier work on GADTs, functional dependencies, and associated types. The contribution of the paper is that we identify and characterise the key technical challenge of entailment checking; and we give a novel, decidable, sound, and complete algorithm to solve it, together with some practically-important variants. Our system is implemented in GHC, and is already in active use.

Abstract. Reynolds ’ abstraction theorem [21], often referred to as the parametricity theorem, can be used to derive properties about functional programs solely from their types. Unfortunately, in the presence of runtime type analysis, the abstraction properties of polymorphic programs are no longer valid. However, runtime type analysis can be implemented with term-level representations of types, as in the λR language of Crary et al. [10], where case analysis on these runtime representations introduces type refinement. In this paper, we show that representation-based analysis is consistent with type abstraction by extending the abstraction theorem to such a language. We also discuss the “free theorems” that result. This work provides a foundation for the more general problem of extending the abstraction theorem to languages with generalized algebraic datatypes (gadts). 1

Abstract. We observe that the combination of multi-parameter type classes with existential types and type annotations leads to a loss of principal types and undecidability of type inference. This may be a surprising fact for users of these popular features. We conduct a concise investigation of the problem and are able to give a type inference procedure which, if successful, computes principal types under the conditions imposed by the Glasgow Haskell Compiler (GHC). Our results provide new insights on how to perform type inference for advanced type extensions. 1 Introduction Type systems are important building tools in the design of programming lan-guages. They are typically specified in terms of a set of typing rules which are formulated in natural deduction style. The standard approach towards estab-lishing type soundness is to show that any well-typed program cannot go wrong at run-time. Hence, one of the first tasks of a compiler is to verify whether aprogram is well-typed or not.

Abstract. Herbrand constraint solving or unification has long been understood as an efficient mechanism for type checking and inference for programs using Hindley/Milner types. If we step back from the particular solving mechanisms used for Hindley/Milner types, and understand type operations in terms of constraints we not only give a basis for handling Hindley/Milner extensions, but also gain insight into type reasoning even on pure Hindley/Milner types, particularly for type errors. In this paper we consider typing problems as constraint problems and show which constraint algorithms are required to support various typing questions. We use a light weight constraint reasoning formalism, Constraint Handling Rules, to generate suitable algorithms for many popular extensions to Hindley/Milner types. The algorithms we discuss are all implemented as part of the freely available Chameleon system. 1

From the dawn of time, all derivatives of the classic Hindley-Milner type system have supported implicit generalisation of local letbindings. Yet, as we will show, for more sophisticated type systems implicit let-generalisation imposes a disproportionate complexity burden. Moreover, it turns out that the feature is very seldom used, so we propose to eliminate it. The payoff is a substantial simplification, both of the specification of the type system, and of its implementation.

The Constraint Simplification Rules (CSR) subset of CHR and the flat subset of LCC, where agent nesting is restricted, are very close syntactically and semantically. The first contribution of this paper is to provide translations between CSR and flat-LCC. The second contribution is a transformation from the full LCC language to flat-LCC which preserves semantics. This transformation is similar to λ-lifting in functional languages. In conjunction with the equivalence between CHR and CSR with respect to original operational semantics, these results lead to semantics-preserving translations from full LCC to CHR and conversely. Immediate consequences of this work include new proofs for CHR linear logic and phase semantics, relying on corresponding results for LCC, plus an encoding of the λ-calculus in CHR. 1.

Type Checking with Open Type Functions We report on an extension of Haskell with open type-level functions and equality constraints that unifies earlier work on GADTs, functional dependencies, and associated types. The contribution of the paper is that we identify and characterise the key technical challenge of entailment checking; and we give a novel, decidable, sound, and complete algorithm to solve it, together with some practically-important variants. Our system is implemented in GHC, and is already in active use.

Abstract Reynolds's abstraction theorem [21], often referred to as the parametricity theorem, can be used to deriveproperties about functional programs solely from their types. Unfortunately, in the presence of runtime type analysis, the abstraction properties of polymorphic programs are no longer valid. However, runtimetype analysis can be implemented with term-level representations of types, as in the * R language of Craryet al. [10], where case analysis on these runtime representations introduces type refinement. In this paper, we show that representation-based analysis is consistent with type abstraction by extending the abstractiontheorem to such a language. We also discuss the "free theorems " that result. This work provides a foundation for the more general problem of extending the abstraction theorem to languages with generalized algebraicdatatypes (gadts).