Daniel Schwencke

Abstract GSOS Rules and a Modular Treatment of Recursive Definitions

Terminal coalgebras for a functor serve as semantic domains for state-based systems of various types. For example, behaviors of CCS processes, streams, infinite trees, formal languages and non-well-founded sets form terminal coalgebras. We present a uniform account of the semantics of recursive definitions in terminal coalgebras by combining two ideas: (1) abstract GSOS rules l specify additional algebraic operations on a terminal coalgebra; (2) terminal coalgebras are also initial completely iterative algebras (cias). We also show that an abstract GSOS rule leads to new extended cia structures on the terminal coalgebra. Then we formalize recursive function definitions involving given operations specified by l as recursive program schemes for l, and we prove that unique solutions exist in the extended cias. From our results it follows that the solutions of recursive (function) definitions in terminal coalgebras may be used in subsequent recursive definitions which still have unique solutions. We call this principle modularity. We illustrate our results by the five concrete terminal coalgebras mentioned above, e.\,g., a finite stream circuit defines a unique stream function.

Complete iterativity for algebras with effects

Completely iterative algebras (cias) are those algebras in which recursive equations have unique solutions. In this paper we study complete iterativity for algebras with computational effects (described by a monad). First, we prove that for every analytic endofunctor on Set there exists a canonical distributive law over any commutative monad M, hence a lifting of that endofunctor to the Kleisli category of M. Then, for an arbitrary distributive law λ of an endofunctor H on Set over a monad M we introduce λ-cias. The cias for the corresponding lifting of H (called Kleisli-cias) form a full subcategory of the category of λ-cias. For various monads of interest we prove that free Kleisli-cias coincide with free λ-cias, and these free algebras are given by free algebras for H. Finally, for three concrete examples of monads we prove that Kleisli-cias and λ-cias coincide and give a characterisation of those algebras.

Coequational logic for accessible functors

Covarieties of coalgebras are those classes of coalgebras for an endofunctor H on the category of sets that are closed under coproducts, subcoalgebras and quotients. Equivalently, covarieties are classes of H-coalgebras that can be presented by coequations. Adamek introduced a logic of coequations and proved soundness and completeness for all polynomial functors on the category of sets. Here this result is extended to accessible functors: given a presentation of an accessible functor H, simple deduction systems for coequations are formulated and it is shown that regularity of the presentation implies soundness and completeness of these deduction systems. The converse is true whenever H has a non-trivial terminal coalgebra. Also a method is found to obtain concrete descriptions of cofree (and thus terminal) coalgebras of accessible functors, and is applied to the finite and countable powerset functor as well as to the finite distribution functor.

CIA structures and the semantics of recursion

Final coalgebras for a functor serve as semantic domains for state based systems of various types. For example, formal languages, streams, non-well-founded sets and behaviors of CCS processes form final coalgebras. We present a uniform account of the semantics of recursive definitions in final coalgebras by combining two ideas: (1) final coalgebras are also initial completely iterative algebras (cia); (2) additional algebraic operations on final coalgebras may be presented in terms of a distributive lawλ. We first show that a distributive law leads to new extended cia structures on the final coalgebra. Then we formalize recursive function definitions involving operations given by λ as recursive program schemes for λ, and we prove that unique solutions exist in the extended cias. We illustrate our results by the four concrete final coalgebras mentioned above, e. g., a finite stream circuit defines a unique stream function and we show how to define new process combinators from given ones by sos rules involving recursion.

A Category Theoretic View of Nondeterministic Recursive Program Schemes

Deterministic recursive program schemes (RPSs) have a clear category theoretic semantics presented by Ghani et al. and by Milius and Moss. Here we extend it to nondeterministic RPSs. We provide a category theoretic notion of guardedness and of solutions. Our main result is a description of the canonical greatest solution for every guarded nondeterministic RPS, thereby giving a category theoretic semantics for nondeterministic RPSs. We show how our notions and results are connected to classical work.