Pablo Nogueira ; Álvaro García-Pérez - Equivalence of eval-readback and eval-apply big-step evaluators by structuring the lambda-calculus's strategy space

lmcs:10461 - Logical Methods in Computer Science, December 12, 2024, Volume 20, Issue 4 - https://doi.org/10.46298/lmcs-20(4:24)2024
Equivalence of eval-readback and eval-apply big-step evaluators by structuring the lambda-calculus's strategy spaceArticle

Authors: Pablo Nogueira ; Álvaro García-Pérez

    We study the equivalence between eval-readback and eval-apply big-step evaluators in the general setting of the pure lambda calculus. We study `one-step' equivalence (same strategy) and also discuss `big-step' equivalence (same final result). One-step equivalence extends for free to evaluators in other settings (calculi, programming languages, proof assistants, etc.) by restricting the terms (closed, convergent) while maintaining the strategy. We present a proof that one-step equivalence holds when (1) the `readback' stage satisfies straightforward well-formedness provisos, (2) the `eval' stage implements a `uniform' strategy, and (3) the eval-apply evaluator implements a `balanced hybrid' strategy that has `eval' as a subsidiary strategy. The proof proceeds the `lightweight fusion by fixed-point promotion' program transformation on evaluator implementations to fuse readback and eval into the balanced hybrid. The proof can be followed with no previous knowledge of the transformation. We use Haskell 2010 as the implementation language, with all evaluators written in monadic style to guarantee semantics (strategy) preservation, but the choice of implementation language is immaterial. To illustrate the large scope of the equivalence, we provide an extensive survey of the strategy space using canonical eval-apply evaluators in code and big-step `natural' operational semantics. We discuss the strategies' properties, some of their uses, and their abstract machines. We improve the formal definition of uniform and hybrid strategy, use it to structure the strategy space, and to obtain generic higher-order evaluators which are used in the equivalence proof. We introduce a systematic notation for both evaluator styles and use it to summarise strategy and evaluator equivalences, including (non-)equivalences within a style and (non-)equivalences between styles not proven by the transformation.


    Volume: Volume 20, Issue 4
    Published on: December 12, 2024
    Accepted on: October 19, 2024
    Submitted on: December 12, 2022
    Keywords: Computer Science - Logic in Computer Science

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