This textbook explains the basic principles of categorical type theory and the techniques used to derive categorical semantics for specific type theories. It introduces the reader to ordered set theory, lattices and domains, and this material provides plenty of examples for an introduction to category theory. which covers categories, functors, natural transformations, the Yoneda lemma, cartesian closed categories, limits, adjunctions and indexed categories. Four kinds of formal system are considered in detail, namely algebraic, functional, polymorphic functional, and higher order polymorphic functional type theory. For each of these the categorical semantics are derived and results about the type systems are proved categorically. Issues of soundness and completeness are also considered. Aimed at advanced undergraduates and beginning graduates, this book will be of interest to theoretical computer scientists, logicians and mathematicians specialising in category theory.
It is well known that there are problems associated with formal systems which attempt to combine higher order abstract syntax (HOAS) with principles of induction and recursion. We describe a formal system, called Bsyntax, which we have implemented in Isabelle HOL. Our contribution is to prove the existence of a combinator for primitive recursion with parameters over HOAS. The definition of the combinator is facilitated by the use of terms with infinite contexts. In particular, our work is purely definitional, and is thus consistent with classical logic and choice. An immediate payoff is that we obtain a primitive recursive definition of higher order substitution. We give a presheaf model of Bsyntax, providing additional semantic validation of Bsyntax's principles of recursion. We outline an application of our work to mechanized reasoning about the compiler intermediate language MIL-lite [2].
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