Basic Simple Type Theory

ISBN-13: 9780521465182 / Angielski / Twarda / 1997 / 200 str.

J. Roger Hindley; Roger J. Hindley; C. J. Van Rijsbergen

Opis

Type theory is one of the most important tools in the design of higher-level programming languages, such as ML. This book introduces and teaches its techniques by focusing on one particularly neat system and studying it in detail. By concentrating on the principles that make the theory work in practice, the author covers all the key ideas without getting involved in the complications of more advanced systems. This book takes a type-assignment approach to type theory, and the system considered is the simplest polymorphic one. The author covers all the basic ideas, including the system's relation to propositional logic, and gives a careful treatment of the type-checking algorithm that lies at the heart of every such system. Also featured are two other interesting algorithms that until now have been buried in inaccessible technical literature. The mathematical presentation is rigorous but clear, making it the first book at this level that can be used as an introduction to type theory for computer scientists.

Recenzje

The proofs in this book are given in great detail, and still the author succeeds in writing the book in a clear but not too technical style. It is easy and pleasurable to read this book." Journal of Symbolic Logic

Spis treści

Introduction; 1. The type-free λ-calculus; 2. Assigning types to terms; 3. The principal-type algorithm; 4. Type assignment with equality; 5. A version using typed terms; 6. The correspondence with implication; 7. The converse principal-type algorithm; 8. Counting a type's inhabitants; 9. Technical details; Answers to starred exercises; Bibliography; Table of principal types; Index.