Skip to main content

On confluence for weakly normalizing systems

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 488))

Abstract

We present a general, abstract method to show confluence of weakly normalizing systems. The technique consists in constructing an interpretation of the source system into a target system which is already confluent. If the interpretation satisfies certain simple conditions, then the source system is confluent. The method has been used implicitly in a number of applications, but does not seem to have been presented so far in its generality. We present, as digressions, two other methods for proving confluence.

This work was carried on with the partial support of E.E.C., Esprit Basic Research Action 3070 FIDE and of Italian C.N.R., P.F.I. “Sistemi informatici e calcolo parallelo”.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. M. Abadi, L. Cardelli, P.-L. Curien, J.-J. Lévy, Explicit Substitutions, Proc. POPL 90, San Francisco, ACM (1990).

    Google Scholar 

  2. V. Breazu-Tannen, T. Coquand, C. Gunter, A. Scedrov, Inheritance and Explicit Coercion, Proc. Logic in Computer Science 89, Monterey, USA (1989).

    Google Scholar 

  3. V. Breazu-Tannen, J. Gallier, Polymorphic Rewriting Conserves Algebraic Confluence, Proc. ICALP 89, Stresa, Lecture Notes in Comput. Sci. 372 (1989).

    Google Scholar 

  4. P.-L. Curien, Categorical Combinators, Sequential Algorithms and Functional Programming, Pitman (1986).

    Google Scholar 

  5. P.-L. Curien, Roberto Di Cosmo, Confluence in the typed λ-calculus extended with Surjective Pairing and a Terminal Type, draft (1990).

    Google Scholar 

  6. P.-L. Curien, G. Ghelli, Coherence of Subsumption, Proc. Colloque sur les Arbres en Algèbre et en Programmation 90, Lecture Notes in Comput. Sci. 431 (1990).

    Google Scholar 

  7. P.-L. Curien, G. Ghelli, Subtyping + Extensionality: Confluence of βη reduction in F, draft (1990).

    Google Scholar 

  8. L. Cardelli, P. Wegner, On Understanding Types, Data Abstraction and Polymorphism, ACM Computing Surveys, 17 (4) (1985).

    Google Scholar 

  9. D. van Daalen, The Language Theory of Automath, PhD Thesis, Technical University of Eindhoven, 1980.

    Google Scholar 

  10. J.-Y. Girard, Y. Lafont, P. Taylor, Proofs and Types, Cambridge University Press (1989).

    Google Scholar 

  11. T. Hardin, Confluence Results for the Pure Strong Categorical Combinatory Logic CCL: λ-calculi as Subsystems of CCL, Theoret. Comput. Sci. 65, 291–342 (1989).

    Google Scholar 

  12. R. Harper, F. Honsell, G. Plotkin, A Framework for Defining Logics, Proc. Logic in Computer Science 87, Ithaca (1987).

    Google Scholar 

  13. G. Huet, D.C. Oppen, Equations and Rewrite Rules: A Survey, in Formal Languages Theory: Perspective and Open Problems, R. Book ed., 349–393, Academic Press (1980).

    Google Scholar 

  14. J.-W. Klop, Combinatory Reduction Systems, Mathematical Center Tracts 127 (1980).

    Google Scholar 

  15. J.-W. Klop, R. de Vrijer, Unique Normal Forms for Lambda-calculus with Surjective Pairing, Information and Computation (1989).

    Google Scholar 

  16. G. Pottinger, The Church Rosser Theorem for the Typed lambda-calculus with Surjective Pairing, Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic 22 (3), 264–68 (1981).

    Google Scholar 

  17. A. Salvesen, The Church-Rosser Theorem for LF with βη-reduction, draft (1989).

    Google Scholar 

  18. Y. Toyama, Term Rewriting Systems and the Church-Rosser Property, PhD Thesis, Tohoku University, 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  19. R. de Vrijer, Surjective Pairing and Strong Normalization, Two Themes in Lambda-calculus, PhD Thesis, Universiteit van Amsterdam, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Ronald V. Book

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1991 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Curien, PL., Ghelli, G. (1991). On confluence for weakly normalizing systems. In: Book, R.V. (eds) Rewriting Techniques and Applications. RTA 1991. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 488. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-53904-2_98

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-53904-2_98

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-53904-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-46383-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics