Olivier Pons

Setoids in type theory

Formalising mathematics in dependent type theory often requires to represent sets as setoids, i.e. types with an explicit equality relation. This paper surveys some possible definitions of setoids and assesses their suitability as a basis for developing mathematics. According to whether the equality relation is required to be reflexive or not we have total or partial setoid, respectively. There is only one definition of total setoid, but four different definitions of partial setoid, depending on four different notions of setoid function. We prove that one approach to partial setoids in unsuitable, and that the other approaches can be divided in two classes of equivalence. One class contains definitions of partial setoids that are equivalent to total setoids; the other class contains an inherently different definition, that has been useful in the modeling of type systems. We also provide some elements of discussion on the merits of each approach from the viewpoint of formalizing mathematics. In particular, we exhibit a difficulty with the common definition of subsetoids in the partial setoid approach.

Certification of Automated Termination Proofs

Nowadays, formal methods rely on tools of different kinds: proof assistants with which the user interacts to discover a proof step by step; and fully automated tools which make use of (intricate) decision procedures. But while some proof assistants can checkthe soundness of a proof, they lack automation. Regarding automated tools, one still has to be satisfied with their answers Yes / No / Do not know , the validity of which can be subject to question, in particular because of the increasing size and complexity of these tools. In the context of rewriting techniques, we aim at bridging the gap between proof assistants that yield formal guarantees of reliability and highly automated tools one has to trust. We present an approach making use of both shallow and deep embeddings. We illustrate this approach with a prototype based on the CiME rewriting toolbox, which can discover involved termination proofs that can be certified by the Coq proof assistant, using the Coccinelle library for rewriting.

Type Isomorphisms and Proof Reuse in Dependent Type Theory

We propose a theoretical foundation for proof reuse, based on the novel idea of a computational interpretation of type isomorphisms.

Automated Certified Proofs with CiME3

We present the rewriting toolkit CiME3. Amongst other original features, this version enjoys two kinds of engines: to handle and discover proofs of various properties of rewriting systems, and to generate Coq scripts from proof traces given in certification problem format in order to certify them with a skeptical proof assistant like Coq. Thus, these features open the way for using CiME3 to add automation to proofs of termination or confluence in a formal development in the Coq proof assistant.

A3PAT, an approach for certified automated termination proofs

Software engineering, automated reasoning, rule-based programming or specifications often use rewriting systems for which termination, among other properties, may have to be ensured.This paper presents the approach developed in Project A3PAT to discover and moreover certify, with full automation, termination proofs for term rewriting systems. It consists of two developments: the Coccinelle library formalises numerous rewriting techniques and termination criteria for the Coq proof assistant; the CiME3 rewriting tool translates termination proofs (discovered by itself or other tools) into traces that are certified by Coq assisted by Coccinelle. The abstraction level of our formalisation allowed us to weaken premises of some theorems known in the literature, thus yielding new termination criteria, such as an extension of the powerful subterm criterion (for which we propose the first full Coq formalisation). Techniques employed in CiME3 also improve on previous works on formalisation and analysis of dependency graphs.

Improved Matrix Interpretation

We present a new technique to prove termination of Term Rewriting Systems, with full automation. A crucial task in this context is to find suitable well-founded orderings. A popular approach consists in interpreting terms into a domain equipped with an adequate well-founded ordering. In addition to the usual interpretations: natural numbers or polynomials over integer/rational numbers, the recently introduced matrix based interpretations have proved to be very efficient regarding termination of string rewriting and of term rewriting. In this spirit we propose to interpret terms as polynomials over integer matrices. Designed for term rewriting, our generalisation subsumes previous approaches allowing for more orderings without increasing the search space. Thus it performs better than the original version. Another advantage is that, interpreting terms to actual polynomials of matrices, it opens the way to matrix non linear interpretations. This result is implemented in the CiME3 rewriting toolkit.

Generalization in Type Theory Based Proof Assistants

This paper describes a mechanism to generalize mathematical results in type theory based proof assistants. The proposed mechanism starts from a proved theorem or a proved set of theorems (a theory) and makes it possible to get less specific results that can be instantiated and reused in other contexts.