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DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CSL.2026.47

Useful Call-by-Value: A Semantic Interpretation via Quantitative Types

Authors: Pablo Barenbaum, Delia Kesner, and Mariana Milicich

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 363, 34th EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2026)

Abstract

Useful evaluation is an optimised evaluation mechanism for functional programming languages. It relies on representing terms with sharing and imposing a restricted notion of useful substitutions, that intuitively disallows copying subterms that do not contribute to the progress of the computation. In particular, useful call-by-value evaluation optimises the standard call-by-value strategy by preserving its original semantics. This preservation result has been shown by means of syntactical rewriting techniques, difficult to adapt to alternative variants of the calculi at play. In this work, we present the first semantic model of useful call-by-value evaluation through the non-idempotent intersection type system 𝒰. Our first contribution is a characterisation of termination for useful call-by-value evaluation via system 𝒰. That is, a term is typable in system 𝒰 if and only if it terminates in the useful call-by-value strategy. As a second contribution, we show that system 𝒰 provides a quantitative interpretation for useful call-by-value evaluation, offering exact step-count information for program evaluation. Our third contribution is that termination in call-by-value and useful call-by-value are equivalent. This ensures in particular that call-by-value, which is (potentially) erasing, and useful call-by-value, which is non-erasing, are observationally equivalent. Even though the specification of the operational semantics of useful evaluation is highly complex, system 𝒰 is notably simple. As far as we know, system 𝒰 is one of the scarce quantitative type systems capturing exactly the substitution step-count for variables and abstractions in an open call-by-value strategy.

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Pablo Barenbaum, Delia Kesner, and Mariana Milicich. Useful Call-by-Value: A Semantic Interpretation via Quantitative Types. In 34th EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 363, pp. 47:1-47:24, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{barenbaum_et_al:LIPIcs.CSL.2026.47,
  author =	{Barenbaum, Pablo and Kesner, Delia and Milicich, Mariana},
  title =	{{Useful Call-by-Value: A Semantic Interpretation via Quantitative Types}},
  booktitle =	{34th EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2026)},
  pages =	{47:1--47:24},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-411-6},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{363},
  editor =	{Guerrini, Stefano and K\"{o}nig, Barbara},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CSL.2026.47},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-254721},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CSL.2026.47},
  annote =	{Keywords: Lambda calculus, Evaluation strategies, Call-by-Value, Useful Evaluation, Intersection types, Quantitative models}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.FSCD.2025.5

The Cost of Skeletal Call-By-Need, Smoothly

Authors: Beniamino Accattoli, Francesco Magliocca, Loïc Peyrot, and Claudio Sacerdoti Coen

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 337, 10th International Conference on Formal Structures for Computation and Deduction (FSCD 2025)

Abstract

Skeletal call-by-need is an optimization of call-by-need evaluation also known as "fully lazy sharing": when the duplication of a value has to take place, it is first split into "skeleton", which is then duplicated, and "flesh" which is instead kept shared. Here, we provide two cost analyses of skeletal call-by-need. Firstly, we provide a family of terms showing that skeletal call-by-need can be asymptotically exponentially faster than call-by-need in both time and space; it is the first such evidence, to our knowledge. Secondly, we prove that skeletal call-by-need can be implemented efficiently, that is, with bi-linear overhead. This result is obtained by providing a new smooth presentation of ideas by Shivers and Wand for the reconstruction of skeletons, which is then smoothly plugged into the study of an abstract machine following the distillation technique by Accattoli et al.

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Beniamino Accattoli, Francesco Magliocca, Loïc Peyrot, and Claudio Sacerdoti Coen. The Cost of Skeletal Call-By-Need, Smoothly. In 10th International Conference on Formal Structures for Computation and Deduction (FSCD 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 337, pp. 5:1-5:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{accattoli_et_al:LIPIcs.FSCD.2025.5,
  author =	{Accattoli, Beniamino and Magliocca, Francesco and Peyrot, Lo\"{i}c and Sacerdoti Coen, Claudio},
  title =	{{The Cost of Skeletal Call-By-Need, Smoothly}},
  booktitle =	{10th International Conference on Formal Structures for Computation and Deduction (FSCD 2025)},
  pages =	{5:1--5:22},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-374-4},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{337},
  editor =	{Fern\'{a}ndez, Maribel},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.FSCD.2025.5},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-236206},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.FSCD.2025.5},
  annote =	{Keywords: \lambda-calculus, abstract machines, call-by-need, cost models}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.FSCD.2023.11

Two Decreasing Measures for Simply Typed λ-Terms

Authors: Pablo Barenbaum and Cristian Sottile

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 260, 8th International Conference on Formal Structures for Computation and Deduction (FSCD 2023)

Abstract

This paper defines two decreasing measures for terms of the simply typed λ-calculus, called the 𝒲-measure and the 𝒯^{𝐦}-measure. A decreasing measure is a function that maps each typable λ-term to an element of a well-founded ordering, in such a way that contracting any β-redex decreases the value of the function, entailing strong normalization. Both measures are defined constructively, relying on an auxiliary calculus, a non-erasing variant of the λ-calculus. In this system, dubbed the λ^{𝐦}-calculus, each β-step creates a "wrapper" containing a copy of the argument that cannot be erased and cannot interact with the context in any other way. Both measures rely crucially on the observation, known to Turing and Prawitz, that contracting a redex cannot create redexes of higher degree, where the degree of a redex is defined as the height of the type of its λ-abstraction. The 𝒲-measure maps each λ-term to a natural number, and it is obtained by evaluating the term in the λ^{𝐦}-calculus and counting the number of remaining wrappers. The 𝒯^{𝐦}-measure maps each λ-term to a structure of nested multisets, where the nesting depth is proportional to the maximum redex degree.

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Pablo Barenbaum and Cristian Sottile. Two Decreasing Measures for Simply Typed λ-Terms. In 8th International Conference on Formal Structures for Computation and Deduction (FSCD 2023). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 260, pp. 11:1-11:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2023)

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@InProceedings{barenbaum_et_al:LIPIcs.FSCD.2023.11,
  author =	{Barenbaum, Pablo and Sottile, Cristian},
  title =	{{Two Decreasing Measures for Simply Typed \lambda-Terms}},
  booktitle =	{8th International Conference on Formal Structures for Computation and Deduction (FSCD 2023)},
  pages =	{11:1--11:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-277-8},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2023},
  volume =	{260},
  editor =	{Gaboardi, Marco and van Raamsdonk, Femke},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.FSCD.2023.11},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-179956},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.FSCD.2023.11},
  annote =	{Keywords: Lambda Calculus, Rewriting, Termination, Strong Normalization, Simple Types}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CSL.2023.8

Reductions in Higher-Order Rewriting and Their Equivalence

Authors: Pablo Barenbaum and Eduardo Bonelli

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 252, 31st EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2023)

Abstract

Proof terms are syntactic expressions that represent computations in term rewriting. They were introduced by Meseguer and exploited by van Oostrom and de Vrijer to study equivalence of reductions in (left-linear) first-order term rewriting systems. We study the problem of extending the notion of proof term to higher-order rewriting, which generalizes the first-order setting by allowing terms with binders and higher-order substitution. In previous works that devise proof terms for higher-order rewriting, such as Bruggink’s, it has been noted that the challenge lies in reconciling composition of proof terms and higher-order substitution (β-equivalence). This led Bruggink to reject "nested" composition, other than at the outermost level. In this paper, we propose a notion of higher-order proof term we dub rewrites that supports nested composition. We then define two notions of equivalence on rewrites, namely permutation equivalence and projection equivalence, and show that they coincide.

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Pablo Barenbaum and Eduardo Bonelli. Reductions in Higher-Order Rewriting and Their Equivalence. In 31st EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2023). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 252, pp. 8:1-8:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2023)

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@InProceedings{barenbaum_et_al:LIPIcs.CSL.2023.8,
  author =	{Barenbaum, Pablo and Bonelli, Eduardo},
  title =	{{Reductions in Higher-Order Rewriting and Their Equivalence}},
  booktitle =	{31st EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2023)},
  pages =	{8:1--8:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-264-8},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2023},
  volume =	{252},
  editor =	{Klin, Bartek and Pimentel, Elaine},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CSL.2023.8},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-174694},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CSL.2023.8},
  annote =	{Keywords: Term Rewriting, Higher-Order Rewriting, Proof terms, Equivalence of Computations}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CSL.2023.9

Proofs and Refutations for Intuitionistic and Second-Order Logic

Authors: Pablo Barenbaum and Teodoro Freund

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 252, 31st EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2023)

Abstract

The λ^{PRK}-calculus is a typed λ-calculus that exploits the duality between the notions of proof and refutation to provide a computational interpretation for classical propositional logic. In this work, we extend λ^{PRK} to encompass classical second-order logic, by incorporating parametric polymorphism and existential types. The system is shown to enjoy good computational properties, such as type preservation, confluence, and strong normalization, which is established by means of a reducibility argument. We identify a syntactic restriction on proofs that characterizes exactly the intuitionistic fragment of second-order λ^{PRK}, and we study canonicity results.

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Pablo Barenbaum and Teodoro Freund. Proofs and Refutations for Intuitionistic and Second-Order Logic. In 31st EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2023). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 252, pp. 9:1-9:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2023)

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@InProceedings{barenbaum_et_al:LIPIcs.CSL.2023.9,
  author =	{Barenbaum, Pablo and Freund, Teodoro},
  title =	{{Proofs and Refutations for Intuitionistic and Second-Order Logic}},
  booktitle =	{31st EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2023)},
  pages =	{9:1--9:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-264-8},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2023},
  volume =	{252},
  editor =	{Klin, Bartek and Pimentel, Elaine},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CSL.2023.9},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-174707},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CSL.2023.9},
  annote =	{Keywords: lambda-calculus, propositions-as-types, classical logic, proof normalization}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.FSCD.2017.9

Optimality and the Linear Substitution Calculus

Authors: Pablo Barenbaum and Eduardo Bonelli

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 84, 2nd International Conference on Formal Structures for Computation and Deduction (FSCD 2017)

Abstract

We lift the theory of optimal reduction to a decomposition of the lambda calculus known as the Linear Substitution Calculus (LSC). LSC decomposes beta-reduction into finer steps that manipulate substitutions in two distinctive ways: it uses context rules that allow substitutions to act "at a distance" and rewrites modulo a set of equations that allow substitutions to "float" in a term. We propose a notion of redex family obtained by adapting Lévy labels to support these two distinctive features. This is followed by a proof of the finite family developments theorem (FFD). We then apply FFD to prove an optimal reduction theorem for LSC. We also apply FFD to deduce additional novel properties of LSC, namely an algorithm for standardisation by selection and normalisation of a linear call-by-need reduction strategy. All results are proved in the axiomatic setting of Glauert and Khashidashvili's Deterministic Residual Structures.

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Pablo Barenbaum and Eduardo Bonelli. Optimality and the Linear Substitution Calculus. In 2nd International Conference on Formal Structures for Computation and Deduction (FSCD 2017). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 84, pp. 9:1-9:16, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2017)

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@InProceedings{barenbaum_et_al:LIPIcs.FSCD.2017.9,
  author =	{Barenbaum, Pablo and Bonelli, Eduardo},
  title =	{{Optimality and the Linear Substitution Calculus}},
  booktitle =	{2nd International Conference on Formal Structures for Computation and Deduction (FSCD 2017)},
  pages =	{9:1--9:16},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-047-7},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2017},
  volume =	{84},
  editor =	{Miller, Dale},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.FSCD.2017.9},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-77307},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.FSCD.2017.9},
  annote =	{Keywords: Rewriting, Lambda Calculus, Explicit Substitutions, Optimal Reduction}
}

6 Search Results for "Barenbaum, Pablo"

Useful Call-by-Value: A Semantic Interpretation via Quantitative Types

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The Cost of Skeletal Call-By-Need, Smoothly

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Two Decreasing Measures for Simply Typed λ-Terms

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Reductions in Higher-Order Rewriting and Their Equivalence

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Proofs and Refutations for Intuitionistic and Second-Order Logic

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Optimality and the Linear Substitution Calculus

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