In computer science and logic, a dependent type is a type whose definition depends on a value. A "pair of integers" is a type. A "pair of integers where the second is greater than the first" is a dependent type because of the dependence on the value. It is an overlapping feature of type theory and type systems. In intuitionistic type theory, dependent types are used to encode logic's quantifiers like "for all" and "there exists". In functional programming languages like Agda, ATS, Coq, Epigram and Idris, dependent types prevent bugs by allowing extremely expressive types.
Contents
- History
- Formal definition
- Dependent pair type
- Example as existential quantification
- Systems of the lambda cube
- First order dependent type theory
- Second order dependent type theory
- Higher order dependently typed polymorphic lambda calculus
- Simultaneous Programming language and Logic
- References
Two common examples of dependent types are dependent functions and dependent pairs. A dependent function's return type may depend on the value (not just type) of an argument. A function that takes a positive integer "n" may return an array of length "n". (Note that this is different from polymorphism and generic programming, both of which include the type as an argument.) A dependent pair may have a second value that depends on the first. It can be used to encode a pair of integers where the second one is greater than the first.
Dependent types add complexity to a type system. Deciding the equality of dependent types in a program may require computations. If arbitrary values are allowed in dependent types, then deciding type equality may involve deciding whether two arbitrary programs produce the same result; hence type checking may become undecidable.
History
Dependent types were created to deepen the connection between programming and logic.
In 1934, Haskell Curry noticed that the types used in typed lambda calculus, and in its combinatory logic counterpart, followed the same pattern as axioms in propositional logic. Going further, for every proof in the logic, there was a matching function (term) in the programming language. One of Curry's examples was the correspondence between simply typed lambda calculus and intuitionistic logic.
Predicate logic is an extension of propositional logic, adding quantifiers. Howard and de Bruijn extended lambda calculus to match this more powerful logic by creating types for dependent functions, which correspond to "for all", and dependent pairs, which correspond to "there exists".
(Because of this and other work by Howard, propositions-as-types is known as the Curry-Howard correspondence.)
Formal definition
Loosely speaking, dependent types are similar to the type of an indexed family of sets. More formally, given a type
A function whose type of return value varies with its argument (i.e. there is no fixed codomain) is a dependent function and the type of this function is called dependent product type, pi-type or simply dependent type. For this example, the dependent type would be written as
or as
If
The name 'pi-type' comes from the idea that these may be viewed as a Cartesian product of types. Pi-types can also be understood as models of universal quantifiers.
For example, writing
Polymorphic functions are an important example of dependent functions, that is, functions having dependent type. Given a type, these functions act on elements of that type (or on elements of a type constructed (derived, inherited) from that type). A polymorphic function returning elements of type C would have a polymorphic type written as
Dependent pair type
The opposite of the dependent product type is the dependent pair type, dependent sum type or sigma-type. It is analogous to the coproduct or disjoint union. Sigma-types can also be understood as existential quantifiers. Notationally, it is written as
The dependent pair type captures the idea of an indexed pair, where the type of the second term is dependent on the first. Thus, if
then
Example as existential quantification
Let
Systems of the lambda cube
Henk Barendregt developed the lambda cube as a means of classifying type systems along three axes. The eight corners of the resulting cube-shaped diagram each correspond to a type system, with simply typed lambda calculus in the least expressive corner, and calculus of constructions in the most expressive. The three axes of the cube correspond to three different augmentations of the simply typed lambda calculus: the addition of dependent types, the addition of polymorphism, and the addition of higher kinded type constructors (functions from types to types, for example). The lambda cube is generalized further by pure type systems.
First order dependent type theory
The system
Second order dependent type theory
The system
Higher order dependently typed polymorphic lambda calculus
The higher order system
Simultaneous Programming language and Logic
The Curry–Howard correspondence implies that types can be constructed that express arbitrarily complex mathematical properties. If the user can supply a constructive proof that a type is inhabited (i.e., that a value of that type exists) then a compiler can check the proof and convert it into executable computer code that computes the value by carrying out the construction. The proof checking feature makes dependently typed languages closely related to proof assistants. The code-generation aspect provides a powerful approach to formal program verification and proof-carrying code, since the code is derived directly from a mechanically verified mathematical proof.