A central problem in the design of programming systems is to provide methods for verifying that computer code performs to specification. This book presents a rigorous foundation for defining Boolean categories, in which the relationship between specification and behaviour can be explored. Boolean categories provide a rich interface between program constructs and techniques familiar from algebra, for instance matrix- or ideal-theoretic methods. The book's distinction is that the approach relies on only a single program construct (the first-order theory of categories), the others being derived...

Action Semantics is a novel approach to the formal description of programming languages. Its abstractness is at an intermediate level, between that of denotational and operational semantics. Action Semantics has considerable pragmatic advantages over all previous approaches, in its comprehensibility and accessibility, and especially in the usefulness of its semantic descriptions of realistic programming languages. In this volume, Dr Peter Mosses gives a thorough introduction to action semantics, and provides substantial illustrations of its use. Graduates of computer science or maths who have...

The two notions of proofs and calculations are intimately related. Proofs can involve calculations, and the algorithm underlying a calculation should be proved correct. This volume explores this key relationship and introduces simple type theory. Starting from the familiar propositional calculus, the author develops the central idea of an applied lambda-calculus. This is illustrated by an account of Godel's T, a system that codifies number-theoretic function hierarchies. Each of the book's 52 sections ends with a set of exercises, some 200 in total. An appendix contains complete solutions of...

Keith Van Rijsbergen demonstrates how different models of information retrieval (IR) can be combined in the same framework used to formulate the general principles of quantum mechanics. All the standard results can be applied to address problems in IR, such as pseudo-relevance feedback, relevance feedback and ostensive retrieval. The relation with quantum computing is examined. Appendices with background material on physics and mathematics are also included.

In recent years, there have been several attempts to define a logic for information retrieval (IR). The aim was to provide a rich and uniform representation of information and its semantics with the goal of improving retrieval effectiveness. The basis of a logical model for IR is the assumption that queries and documents can be represented effectively by logical formulae. To retrieve a document, an IR system has to infer the formula representing the query from the formula representing the document. This logical interpretation of query and document emphasizes that relevance in IR is an...

The annual colloquium on information retrieval research provides an opportunity for both new and established researchers to present papers describing work in progress or ?nal results. This colloquium was established by the BCS IRSG(B- tish Computer Society Information Retrieval Specialist Group), and named the Annual Colloquium on Information Retrieval Research. Recently, the location of the colloquium has alternated between the United Kingdom and continental Europe. To re?ect the growing European orientation of the event, the colloquium was renamed European Annual Colloquium on Information...

This book covers the background of classical logic, including the major meta-theorems, and the state of the art in theorem proving.

In recent years, there have been several attempts to define a logic for information retrieval (IR). The aim was to provide a rich and uniform representation of information and its semantics with the goal of improving retrieval effectiveness. The basis of a logical model for IR is the assumption that queries and documents can be represented effectively by logical formulae. To retrieve a document, an IR system has to infer the formula representing the query from the formula representing the document. This logical interpretation of query and document emphasizes that relevance in IR is an...