Fall 2000, CSE 520: Solution of Assignment 2

Exercise 1

The simplest solution is to use recursion:
   div(n,k) = if smaller(n,k) then 0 else div(n-k,k) + 1
The definitions of the relation "smaller" and of the function "minus" can also be given by recursion:
   smaller(n,k) = if n = 0 then (if k = 0 then false else true)
                           else smaller(n-1,k-1)

   minus(n,k) = if k = 0 then n else minus(n-1,k-1)
The rest follows the standard construction using the fixpoint operator. Thus we have:
   [div] = Y (\f n k. [if_then_else] ([smaller] n k) [0] (f ([minus] n k) k))
   [smaller] = Y (\f n k. [if_then_else] ([is_zero] n) 
                                         ([if_then_else] ([is_zero] k) [false] [true])
                                         (f ([predecessor] n) ([predecessor] k)) )
   [minus] = Y (\f n k. [if_then_else] ([is_zero] k) [n] (f ([predecessor] n) ([predecessor] k)) )   

Exercise 2

  1. -> is not confluent. In fact, consider the lambda term P =def= (\x. x x)((\y. y)R) for some lambda term R. We have that P -> M =def=(\x. x x)R and P -> N =def=((\y. y)R)((\y. y)R), but there is no common term Q to which both M and N reduce in one step. In fact, M can only reduce to Q =def= R R, while N can reduce to Q only in two steps.
  2. -> is weakly confluent; it is an obvious consequence of the confluence of ->>.
    We can also give a direct proof of this fact. Assume P -> M and P -> N. Then P must contain two different lambda redexes P1 and P2. If P1 and P2 are disjoint, then the conclusion is obvious. Otherwise, assume that P1 is of the form P1=def= (\x. R1)S1. If P2 is inside S1, then observe that R1[S1/x] ->> R1[S'1/x] for some term S'1 such that S1 ->> S'1. If P2 is inside R1, then observe that R1[S1/x] ->> R'1[S1/x] for some term R'1 such that R1 ->> R'1.

Exercise 3

  1. The answer is yes. The proof can be done by induction on the number m of steps in P ->> M and on the number n of steps in P ->> N. We will prove that there exists Q such that M ->> Q in n steps and N ->> Q in m steps. Note that it is quite intuitive that the conflence of -> implies the confluence of ->>. The following diagrams illustrates the situation for n=2 and m=3 (o stands for an arbitrary term):
       P -> o -> o -> M
       |              .
       V              .
       o              .
       |              .
       V              .
       N .............?  Yes: 
    
    
       P -> o -> o -> M
       |    |    |    |     
       V    V    V    V
       o -> o -> o -> o
       |    |    |    |        
       V    V    V    V      
       N -> o -> o -> Q
    
  2. The answer is no. For example, assume that the relation -> is defined in such a way that, for every P, M, and N such that P -> M and P -> N, there exists only one Q such that M ->> Q and N ->> Q, and both M ->> Q and N ->> Q take two steps. Then we can never "complete" a diagram like the one above. The following diagram illustrate the situation in the case in which P ->> N in one step and P ->> M in two steps (say, P -> R -> M). Even in this simple case we cannot close the diagram. In fact, we can find an element T such that N ->> T in two steps and R ->> T in two steps, but now we are left with the problem of closing the diagram relative to R. Since R ->> M in one step and R ->> T in two steps, the problem has the same complexity as the initial one; i.e. we are not getting any closer to the solution (we are assuming, of course, that A has enough elements to provide always new T's).
       P -----> R ----> M
       |                .
       |                .
       |                .
       V                .
       N ...............?  No:
     
    
       P -----> R ----> M
       |        |       .
       |        V       .
       |        |       .
       V        V       .
       N -->--> T ......?
    
    A simpler proof is the following: Consider the following diagram

    Namely, P -> R and R -> P, P -> S and S -> P, R -> M and S -> N. Then -> is weakly confluent but ->> is not confluent, in fact P ->> M and P ->> N but there is no common term to which M and N both reduce.

Exercise 4

  1. Weakly normalizing. In fact, by reducing [is_zero] [0] and then [if_then_else] we get
       [if_then_else]([is_zero] [0]) [1] Omega -> [if_then_else] [true] [1] Omega -> [1] (normal form)
       
    but also, by reducing Omega, we get
       [if_then_else]([is_zero] [0]) [1] Omega -> [if_then_else] ([is_zero] [0]) [1] Omega -> ...
       

  2. Not normalizing. In fact, the only "evolving" reductions (i.e. reductions to a different term) bring to Omega (\y.[false]) [true] [0] [1]:
       [if_then_else]([is_zero] Omega) [0] [1] -> ([is_zero] Omega) [0] [1] 
                                               -> Omega ([true][false]) [true] [0] [1]
                                               -> Omega (\y.[false]) [true] [0] [1]
       
    but then we have that Omega (\y.[false]) [true] [0] [1] can only reduce to itself:
       Omega (\y.[false]) [true] [0] [1] -> Omega (\y.[false]) [true] [0] [1] -> ...
       

  3. Weakly normalizing. In fact, let us denote by G the term (\x.F(xx))(\x.F(xx)). Note that Y F -> G -> F G -> F(F G) ->... . We have:
       Y F [3] ->> [if_then_else] ([is_zero] [3]) [1] ([times] [3] (G ([predecessor] [3])))  
               ->> [times] [3] (G [2])
               ->> [times] [3] (F G [2])
               ->> [times] [3] ([if_then_else] ([is_zero] [2]) [1] ([times] [2] (G ([predecessor] [2]))))
               ->> ...
               ->> [times] [3] ([times] [2] ([times] [1] ([if_then_else] ([is_zero] [0]) [1] ([times] [0] (G ([predecessor] [0]))))))
               ->> [times] [3] ([times] [2] ([times] [1] [1]))
               ->> [6]   (normal form)
       
    but also
       Y F [3] -> F G [3] -> F(F G) [3] -> ...
       
    Note that we cannot replace G by Y F in the above formulas. In fact, although we have Y F = F(Y F) = F(F(Y F)) = ..., it is not true that Y F ->> F(Y F).

    This last exercise illustrates the fact that, even in eager langauges like ML, the if_then_else operator must have a lazy semantics, otherwise recursive definition cannot be given.

Exercise 5

Of course not, for instance we have
   [true] Omega [0] -> Omega -> Omega ...
In this derivation, the first step is not monotonic. A more interesting example is the following, were every other step is not monotonic. The symbol I represents the lambda term \y.y (identity).
   (\x. I x x)(\x. I x x) -> I (\x. I x x)(\x. I x x)
                          -> (\x. I x x)(\x. I x x)
                          -> I (\x. I x x)(\x. I x x)
                          -> (\x. I x x)(\x. I x x)
                          -> ...