Reconciling Partial and Local Invertibility

Abstract

Invertible programming languages specify transformations to be run in two directions, such as compression/decompression or encryption/decryption. Two key concepts in invertible programming languages are partial invertibility and local invertibility. Partial invertibility lets invertible code be parameterized by the results of non-invertible code, whereas local invertibility requires all code to be invertible. The former allows for more flexible programming, while the latter has connections to domains such as low-energy computing and quantum computing. We find that existing approaches lack a satisfying treatment of partial invertibility, leaving the connection to local invertibility unclear.In this paper, we identify four core constructs for partially invertible programming, and show how to give them a locally invertible interpretation. We show the expressiveness of the constructs by designing the functional invertible language Kalpis, and show how to give them a locally invertible semantics using the novel arrow combinator language $$\textsc {rrArr}$$ R R A R R —the key idea is viewing partial invertibility as an invertible effect. By formalizing the two systems and giving Kalpis semantics by translation to $$\textsc {rrArr}$$ R R A R R , we reconcile partial and local invertibility, solving an open problem in the field. All formal developments are mechanized in Agda.