Abstract Nondeterminism is a pervasive phenomenon in computation. Often it arises as an emergent property of a complex system, typically as the result of contention for access to shared resources. In such circumstances, we cannot always know, in advance, exactly what will happen. In other circumstances, nondeterminism is explicitly introduced as a means of abstracting away from implementation details such as precise command scheduling and control flow. However, the kind of behaviours exhibited by nondeterministic computations can be extremely subtle in comparison to those of their deterministic counterparts and reasoning about such programs is notoriously tricky as a result. It is therefore important to develop semantic tools to improve our understanding of, and aid our reasoning about, such nondeterministic programs. In this thesis, we extend the framework of game semantics to encompass nondeterministic computation. Game semantics is a relatively recent development in denotational semantics; its main novelty is that it views a computation not as a static entity, but rather as a dynamic process of interaction. This perspective makes the theory well-suited to modelling many aspects of computational processes: the original use of game semantics in modelling the simple functional language PCF has subsequently been extended to handle more complex control structures such as references and continuations.

We relate two sequential models of PCF: the sequential algorithm model due to Berry and Curien and the strongly stable model due to Bucciarelli and the author. More precisely, we show that all the morphisms araising in the strongly stable model of PCF are sequential in the sense that they are the "extensional projections" of some sequential algorithms. We define a model of PCF where morphisms are "extensional" sequential algorithms and prove that any equation between PCF terms which holds in this model also holds in the strongly stable model.

This course introduces the operational and denotational semantics of PCF and examines the relationship between the two. Topics: Syntax and operational semantics of PCF, Activity Lemma, undefinability of parallel or; Context Lemma (first principles proof) and proof by logical relations Denotational semantics of PCF induced by an interpretation; (standard) Scott model, adequacy, weak adequacy and its proof (by a computability predicate) Domain Theory up to SFP and Scott domains; non full abstraction of the standard model, definability of compact elements and full abstraction for PCFP (PCF + parallel or), properties of order-extensional (continuous) models of PCF, Milner's model and Mulmuley's construction (excluding proofs) Additional topics (time permitting): results on pure simply-typed lambda calculus, Friedman 's Completeness Theorem, minimal model, logical relations and definability, undecidability of lambda definability (excluding proof), dI-domains and stable functions Homepa...

We discuss the conceptual problem of identifying the natural notions of computability at higher types (over the natural numbers). We argue for an eclectic approach, in which one considers a wide range of possible approaches to defining higher type computability and then looks for regularities. As a first step in this programme, we give an extended survey of the di#erent strands of research on higher type computability to date, bringing together material from recursion theory, constructive logic and computer science. The paper thus serves as a reasonably complete overview of the literature on higher type computability. Two sequel papers will be devoted to developing a more systematic account of the material reviewed here.

Abstract. We give a simple order-theoretic construction of a Cartesian closed category of sequential functions. It is based on bistable biorders, which are sets with a partial order — the extensional order — and a bistable coherence, which captures equivalence of program behaviour, up to permutation of top (error) and bottom (divergence). We show that monotone and bistable functions (which are required to preserve bistably bounded meets and joins) are strongly sequential, and use this fact to prove universality results for the bistable biorder semantics of the simply-typed lambda-calculus (with atomic constants), and an extension with arithmetic and recursion. We also construct a bistable model of SPCF, a higher-order functional programming language with non-local control. We use our universality result for the lambda-calculus to show that the semantics of SPCF is fully abstract. We then establish a direct correspondence between bistable functions and sequential algorithms by showing that sequential data structures give rise to bistable biorders, and that each bistable function between such biorders is computed by a sequential algorithm. 1.

Game semantics is a way of characterizing programming languages and logical calculi intensionally by interpreting proofs or programs as strategies for interacting with the environment; this process of interaction can be thought of as playing a two-person game. Games can capture precisely the behaviour of higher-order programs in sequential languages, in a fashion which is very difficult or impossible for traditional forms of denotational semantics. This precision can be expressed formally via the properties of full abstraction, full completeness or universality. A remarkable feature of game semantics is its flexibility: games have been used to give fully abstract or fully complete models not only of logics such as linear logic [3] and functional languages such as PCF [1, 12, 38], but also languages with powerful imperative features such as references (state) [4, 2], continuations [32] and exceptions [13]. By contrast, in domain theory programs are modelled extensionally using sets (with certain order-theoretic structure) and functions (preserving that structure). Domains have formed the basis for much research in denotational semantics by virtue of their conceptual simplicity, and now form a wide-ranging mathematical theory. The search for order-theoretic characterizations of higher-order sequentiality has led to the development of several candidate notions, such as stability [5] and strong stability [6], and was arguably the driving force behind most work in denotational semantics for some years. However, a significant obstacle to the use of domains to reason about programming languages has been a lack of accurate models of imperative and concurrent features of the sort provided by game semantics. A possible basis for connecting the intensional world of games with the extensional world of domains was the remarkable observation of Cartwright and Felleisen [8]

We give an overview of some recently discovered realizability models that embody notions of sequential computation, due mainly to Abramsky, Nickau, Ong, Streicher, van Oosten and the author. Some of these models give rise to fully abstract models of PCF; others give rise to the type structure of sequentially realizable functionals, also known as the strongly stable functionals of Bucciarelli and Ehrhard. Our purpose is to give an accessible introduction to this area of research, and to collect together in one place the definitions of these new models. We give some precise definitions, examples and statements of results, but no full proofs. Preface Over the last two years, researchers in various places (principally Abramsky, Nickau, Ong, Streicher, van Oosten and the present author) have come up with a number of new realizability models that embody some notion of "sequential" computation. Many of these give rise to fully abstract and universal models for PCF and related languages. Alth...