This textbook provides a basis for a PhD course on domain-theoretic semantics of functional programming languages and their meta-mathematical properties. It introduces basic domain theory and the technique of logical relations as developed by Scott and Plotkin. The solution of recursive domain equations is explained in detail.A complete discussion of the famous full abstraction problem for PCF (a functional Kernel language due to Scott and Plotkin) is given including a construction of the fully abstract Milner model using Kripke logical relations.A final chapter introduces computability in Scott domains and shows that this model is fully abstract and universal for appropriate extensions of PCF by parallel language constructs.

The Formal Semantics of Programming Languages provides the basic mathematical techniques necessary for those who are beginning a study of the semantics and logics of programming languages. These techniques will allow students to invent, formalize, and justify rules with which to reason about a variety of programming languages. Although the treatment is elementary, several of the topics covered are drawn from recent research, including the vital area of concurency. The book contains many exercises ranging from simple to miniprojects.Starting with basic set theory, structural operational semantics is introduced as a way to define the meaning of programming languages along with associated proof techniques. Denotational and axiomatic semantics are illustrated on a simple language of while-programs, and fall proofs are given of the equivalence of the operational and denotational semantics and soundness and relative completeness of the axiomatic semantics. A proof of Godel's incompleteness theorem, which emphasizes the impossibility of achieving a fully complete axiomatic semantics, is included. It is supported by an appendix providing an introduction to the theory of computability based on while-programs. Following a presentation of domain theory, the semantics and methods of proof for several functional languages are treated. The simplest language is that of recursion equations with both call-by-value and call-by-name evaluation. This work is extended to lan guages with higher and recursive types, including a treatment of the eager and lazy lambda-calculi. Throughout, the relationship between denotational and operational semantics is stressed, and the proofs of the correspondence between the operation and denotational semantics are provided. The treatment of recursive types - one of the more advanced parts of the book - relies on the use of information systems to represent domains. The book concludes with a chapter on parallel programming languages, accompanied by a discussion of methods for specifying and verifying nondeterministic and parallel programs.

Well-respected text for computer science students provides an accessible introduction to functional programming. Cogent examples illuminate the central ideas, and numerous exercises offer reinforcement. Includes solutions. 1989 edition.

CiE 2008: Logic and Theory of Algorithms Athens, Greece, June 15–20, 2008 Computability in Europe (CiE) is an informal network of European scientists working on computability theory, including its foundations, technical devel- ment, and applications. Among the aims of the network is to advance our t- oretical understanding of what can and cannot be computed, by any means of computation. Its scienti?c vision is broad: computations may be performed with discrete or continuous data by all kinds of algorithms, programs, and - chines. Computations may be made by experimenting with any sort of physical system obeying the laws of a physical theory such as Newtonian mechanics, quantum theory, or relativity. Computations may be very general, depending on the foundations of set theory; or very speci?c, using the combinatorics of ?nite structures. CiE also works on subjects intimately related to computation, especially theories of data and information, and methods for formal reasoning about computations. The sources of new ideas and methods include practical developments in areas such as neural networks, quantum computation, natural computation, molecular computation, computational learning. Applications are everywhere,especially, in algebra,analysisand geometry, or data types and p- gramming. Within CiE there is general recognition of the underlying relevance of computability to physics and a broad range of other sciences, providing as it does a basic analysis of the causal structure of dynamical systems. Thisvolume,Logic andTheory of Algorithms,istheproceedingsofthefourth in a series of conferences of CiE that was held at the University of Athens, June 15–20, 2008.

This unique book on modern topology looks well beyond traditional treatises and explores spaces that may, but need not, be Hausdorff. This is essential for domain theory, the cornerstone of semantics of computer languages, where the Scott topology is almost never Hausdorff. For the first time in a single volume, this book covers basic material on metric and topological spaces, advanced material on complete partial orders, Stone duality, stable compactness, quasi-metric spaces and much more. An early chapter on metric spaces serves as an invitation to the topic (continuity, limits, compactness, completeness) and forms a complete introductory course by itself. Graduate students and researchers alike will enjoy exploring this treasure trove of results. Full proofs are given, as well as motivating ideas, clear explanations, illuminating examples, application exercises and some more challenging problems for more advanced readers.

Semantics of Programming Languages exposes the basic motivations and philosophy underlying the applications of semantic techniques in computer science. It introduces the mathematical theory of programming languages with an emphasis on higher-order functions and type systems. Designed as a text for upper-level and graduate-level students, the mathematically sophisticated approach will also prove useful to professionals who want an easily referenced description of fundamental results and calculi. Basic connections between computational behavior, denotational semantics, and the equational logic of functional programs are thoroughly and rigorously developed. Topics covered include models of types, operational semantics, category theory, domain theory, fixed point (denotational). semantics, full abstraction and other semantic correspondence criteria, types and evaluation, type checking and inference, parametric polymorphism, and subtyping. All topics are treated clearly and in depth, with complete proofs for the major results and numerous exercises.

This book offers a self-contained exposition of the theory of computability in a higher-order context, where 'computable operations' may themselves be passed as arguments to other computable operations. The subject originated in the 1950s with the work of Kleene, Kreisel and others, and has since expanded in many different directions under the influence of workers from both mathematical logic and computer science. The ideas of higher-order computability have proved valuable both for elucidating the constructive content of logical systems, and for investigating the expressive power of various higher-order programming languages. In contrast to the well-known situation for first-order functions, it turns out that at higher types there are several different notions of computability competing for our attention, and each of these has given rise to its own strand of research. In this book, the authors offer an integrated treatment that draws together many of these strands within a unifying framework, revealing not only the range of possible computability concepts but the relationships between them. The book will serve as an ideal introduction to the field for beginning graduate students, as well as a reference for advanced researchers