The deep symmetry of Linear Logic [18] makes it suitable for providing abstract models of computation, free from implementation details which are, by nature, oriented and non symmetrical. I propose here one such model, in the area of Logic Programming, where the basic computational principle is Computation = Proof search.

From the type of a polymorphic function we can derive a theorem that it satisfies. Every function of the same type satisfies the same theorem. This provides a free source of useful theorems, courtesy of Reynolds' abstraction theorem for the polymorphic lambda calculus.

This paper presents an overview of the programming language Modula-3, and a more detailed description of its type system. 1

The Ambient Calculus is a process calculus where processes may reside within a hierarchy of locations and modify it. The purpose of the calculus is to study mobility, which is seen as the change of spatial configurations over time. In order to describe properties of mobile computations we devise a modal logic that can talk about space as well as time, and that has the Ambient Calculus as a model. 1

Abstract not found

The linear logic of J.-Y. Girard suggests a new type system for functional languages, one which supports operations that "change the world". Values belonging to a linear type must be used exactly once: like the world, they cannot be duplicated or destroyed. Such values require no reference counting or garbage collection, and safely admit destructive array update. Linear types extend Schmidt's notion of single threading; provide an alternative to Hudak and Bloss' update analysis; and offer a practical complement to Lafont and Holmström's elegant linear languages.

A polymorphic function is parametric if its behavior does not depend on the type at which it is instantiated. Starting with Reynolds's work, the study of parametricity is typically semantic. In this paper, we develop a syntactic approach to parametricity, and a formal system that embodies this approach, called system R . Girard's system F deals with terms and types; R is an extension of F that deals also with relations between types. In R , it is possible to derive theorems about functions from their types, or "theorems for free", as Wadler calls them. An easy "theorem for free" asserts that the type "(X)XBool contains only constant functions; this is not provable in F. There are many harder and more substantial examples. Various metatheorems can also be obtained, such as a syntactic version of Reynolds's abstraction theorem.

. We present a method for providing semantic interpretations for languages with a type system featuring inheritance polymorphism. Our approach is illustrated on an extension of the language Fun of Cardelli and Wegner, which we interpret via a translation into an extended polymorphic lambda calculus. Our goal is to interpret inheritances in Fun via coercion functions which are definable in the target of the translation. Existing techniques in the theory of semantic domains can be then used to interpret the extended polymorphic lambda calculus, thus providing many models for the original language. This technique makes it possible to model a rich type discipline which includes parametric polymorphism and recursive types as well as inheritance. A central difficulty in providing interpretations for explicit type disciplines featuring inheritance in the sense discussed in this paper arises from the fact that programs can type-check in more than one way. Since interpretations follow the type...

We present the syntax and proof theory of a logic of argumentation, LA. We also outline the development of a category theoretic semantics for LA. LA is the core of a proof theoretic model for reasoning under uncertainty. In this logic, propositions are labelled with a representation of the arguments which support their validity. Arguments may then be aggregated to collect more information about the potential validity of the propositions of interest. We make the notion of aggregation primitive to the logic, and then define strength mappings from sets of arguments to one of a number of possible dictionaries. This provides a uniform framework which incorporates a number of numerical and symbolic techniques for assigning subjective confidences to propositions on the basis of their supporting arguments. These aggregation techniques are also described, with examples. Key words: Uncertain reasoning, epistemic probability, argumentation, non-classical logics, non-monotonic reasoning 1. Introd...

Past attempts to apply Girard's linear logic have either had a clear relation to the theory (Lafont, Holmstrom, Abramsky) or a clear practical value (Guzm'an and Hudak, Wadler), but not both. This paper defines a sequence of languages based on linear logic that span the gap between theory and practice. Type reconstruction in a linear type system can derive information about sharing. An approach to linear type reconstruction based on use types is presented. Applications to the array update problem are considered.