Abstract

. We prove the confluence and strong normalization properties for second order lambda calculus equipped with an expansive version of j-reduction. Our proof technique, based on a simple abstract lemma and a labelled -calculus, can also be successfully used to simplify the proofs of confluence and normalization for first order calculi, and can be applied to various extensions of the calculus presented here. 1 Introduction The typed lambda calculus provides a convenient framework for studying functional programming and offers a natural formalism to deal with proofs in intuitionistic logic. It comes traditionally equipped with the fi equality (x:M)N = M [N=x] as fundamental computational mechanism, and with the j (extensional) equality x:Mx = M as a tool for reasoning about programs. This basic calculus can then be extended by adding further types, like products, unit and second order types, each coming with its own computational mechanism and/or its extensional equalities. To reason abou...

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