A computational approach to reflective meta-reasoning about languages with bindings
Proceedings of the 3rd ACM SIGPLAN workshop on Mechanized reasoning about languages with variable binding
Practical Reflection for Sequent Logics
Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science (ENTCS)
Formal program optimization in nuprl using computational equivalence and partial types
ITP'13 Proceedings of the 4th international conference on Interactive Theorem Proving
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Reflection is the ability of some entity to describe itself. In a logical context, it is the ability of a logic to reason about itself. Reflection is, therefore, placed at the core of meta-mathematics, making it an important part of formal reasoning; where it revolves mainly around syntax and semantics---the main challenge is in making the syntax of the logic become part of its semantic domain. Given its importance, it is surprising that logical computer systems tend to avoid the subject, or provide poor tools for reflective work. This is in sharp contrast to the area of programming languages, where reflection is well researched and used in a variety of ways where it plays a central role. One factor in making reflection inaccessible in logical systems is the relative difficulty that is immediately encountered when formalizing syntax: dealing with formal syntax means dealing with structures that involve bindings, and in a logical context it seems natural to use the same formal tools to describe syntax---often limiting the usability of such formalizations to specific theories and toy examples. Gödel numbers are an example for a reflective formalism that serves its purpose, yet is impractical as a basis for syntactical reasoning in applied systems. In programming languages, there is a simple yet elegant strategy for implementing reflection: instead of making a system that describes itself, the system is made available to itself. We name this direct reflection , where the representation of language features via its semantics is actually part of the semantics itself---unlike the usual practice in formal systems of employing indirect reflection. The advantages of this approach is the fact that both the system and its reflected counterpart are inherently identical, making for a lightweight implementation. In this work we develop the formal background and the practical capabilities of an applied system, namely Nuprl, that are needed to support direct reflection of its own syntax. Achieving this is a major milestone on the road for a fully reflected logical system. As we shall demonstrate, our results enable dealing with syntactical meta-mathematical content.