An Introduction To Lambda Calculi For Computer Scientists

The lambda-calculus lies at the very foundations of computer science. Besides its historical role in computability theory it has had significant influence on programming language design and implementation, denotational semantics, and domain theory. The book emphasises the proof theory for the type-free lambda-calculus. The first six chapters concern this calculus and cover the basic theory, reduction, models, computability, and the relationship between the lambda-calculus and combinatory logic. Chapter 7 presents a variety of typed calculi; first the simply typed lambda-calculus, then Milner-style polymorphism and, finally, the polymorphic lambda-calculus. Chapter 8 concerns two variants of the type-free lambda-calculus that have appeared in the research literature: the lazy lambda-calculus, and the lambda sigma-calculus. The final chapter contains references and a guide to further reading. There are exercises throughout. In contrast to earlier books on these topics, which were written by logicians, this book is written from a computer science perspective and emphasises the practical relevance of many of the key theoretical ideas. The book is intended as a course text for final year undergraduates or first year graduate students in computer science. Research students should find it a useful introduction to more specialist literature.

This is a textbook for final year undergraduates/first year graduates in computer science, as well as a useful introduction for research students seeking a solid introduction to more specialist literature. This text emphasises the role of calculus in programming language design and implementation, denotational semantics, and domain theory. Alternative books on the subject have been written by logicians, but this is the first to have been written from a computer science prespective, invaluable in emphasising the practical relevance of the key theortical ideas.

Graduate text on mathematical foundations of programming languages, and operational and denotational semantics.

Basic Category Theory for Computer Scientists provides a straightforward presentation of the basic constructions and terminology of category theory, including limits, functors, natural transformations, adjoints, and cartesian closed categories. Category theory is a branch of pure mathematics that is becoming an increasingly important tool in theoretical computer science, especially in programming language semantics, domain theory, and concurrency, where it is already a standard language of discourse. Assuming a minimum of mathematical preparation, Basic Category Theory for Computer Scientists provides a straightforward presentation of the basic constructions and terminology of category theory, including limits, functors, natural transformations, adjoints, and cartesian closed categories. Four case studies illustrate applications of category theory to programming language design, semantics, and the solution of recursive domain equations. A brief literature survey offers suggestions for further study in more advanced texts. Contents Tutorial • Applications • Further Reading

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.

Originally published in 1988, this book presents an introduction to lambda-calculus and combinators without getting lost in the details of mathematical aspects of their theory. Lambda-calculus is treated here as a functional language and its relevance to computer science is clearly demonstrated. The main purpose of the book is to provide computer science students and researchers with a firm background in lambda-calculus and combinators and show the applicabillity of these theories to functional programming. The presentation of the material is self-contained. It can be used as a primary text for a course on functional programming. It can also be used as a supplementary text for courses on the structure and implementation of programming languages, theory of computing, or semantics of programming languages.

This handbook with exercises reveals in formalisms, hitherto mainly used for hardware and software design and verification, unexpected mathematical beauty. The lambda calculus forms a prototype universal programming language, which in its untyped version is related to Lisp, and was treated in the first author's classic The Lambda Calculus (1984). The formalism has since been extended with types and used in functional programming (Haskell, Clean) and proof assistants (Coq, Isabelle, HOL), used in designing and verifying IT products and mathematical proofs. In this book, the authors focus on three classes of typing for lambda terms: simple types, recursive types and intersection types. It is in these three formalisms of terms and types that the unexpected mathematical beauty is revealed. The treatment is authoritative and comprehensive, complemented by an exhaustive bibliography, and numerous exercises are provided to deepen the readers' understanding and increase their confidence using types.

Combinatory logic and lambda-calculus, originally devised in the 1920s, have since developed into linguistic tools, especially useful in programming languages. The authors' previous book served as the main reference for introductory courses on lambda-calculus for over 20 years: this version is thoroughly revised and offers an account of the subject with the same authoritative exposition. The grammar and basic properties of both combinatory logic and lambda-calculus are discussed, followed by an introduction to type-theory. Typed and untyped versions of the systems, and their differences, are c.