. In this paper we present an algebraic construction of monotonic predicate transformers, using a categorical construction which is similar to the algebraic construction of the integers from the natural numbers. When applied to the category of sets and total functions once, it yields a category isomorphic to the category of sets and relations; a second application yields a category isomorphic to the category of monotonic predicate transformers. This hierarchy cannot be extended further: the category of total functions is not itself an instance of the categorical construction, and can only be extended by it twice. 1 Introduction Predicate transformers were introduced originally by Dijkstra [8] in order to provide an elegant semantics for his programming language. Their strength lies in the fact that they can be used to model non-deterministic and non-terminating behaviour in terms of total functions, rather than relations. Not all monotonic predicate transformers represent programs in ...

The derivation of certain algorithms can be seen as a hybrid form of dynamic programming and the greedy paradigm. We present a generic theorem about such algorithms, and show how it can be applied to the derivation of an algorithm for data compression. 1 Introduction Dynamic programming is a technique for solving optimisation problems. A typical dynamic programming algorithm proceeds by decomposing the input in all possible ways, recursively solving the subproblems, and combining optimal solutions to subproblems into an optimal solution for the whole problem. The greedy paradigm is also a technique for solving optimisation problems and differs from dynamic programming in that only one decomposition of the input is considered. Such a decomposition is usually chosen to maximise some objective function, and this explains the term `greedy'. In our earlier work, we have characterised the use of dynamic programming and the greedy paradigm, using the categorical calculus of relations to der...

The context of this article is the program to develop monoidal bicategories with a feedback operation as an algebra of processes, with applications to concurrency theory. The objective here is to study reachability, minimization and minimal realization in these bicategories. In this setting the automata are 1-cells in contrast with previous studies where they appeared as objects. As a consequence we are able to study the relation of minimization and minimal realization to serial composition of automata using (co)lax (co)monads. We are led to define suitable behaviour categories and prove minimal realization theorems which extend classical results. This work has been supported by NSERC Canada, Italian MURST and the Australian Research Council 1 Introduction Katis, Sabadini, Walters, and Weld have described bicategories equipped with operations of serial and parallel composition, and feedback modelled as, respectively, composition of 1cells, a tensor product and an operation called...