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Capture-Avoiding Substitution as a Nominal Algebra

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Theoretical Aspects of Computing - ICTAC 2006 (ICTAC 2006)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNTCS,volume 4281))

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Abstract

Substitution is fundamental to computer science, underlying for example quantifiers in predicate logic and beta-reduction in the lambda-calculus. So is substitution something we define on syntax on a case-by-case basis, or can we turn the idea of ‘substitution’ into a mathematical object?

We exploit the new framework of Nominal Algebra to axiomatise substitution. We prove our axioms sound and complete with respect to a canonical model; this turns out to be quite hard, involving subtle use of results of rewriting and algebra.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, EH14 4AS, Edinburgh, Scotland, Great Britain

    Murdoch J. Gabbay

  2. Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600, MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Aad Mathijssen

Authors
  1. Murdoch J. Gabbay
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  2. Aad Mathijssen
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire CEDRIC, Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, 192 rue Saint Martin, Paris Cedex 03, France

    Kamel Barkaoui

  2. Department of Computer Science, University of York, York, UK

    Ana Cavalcanti

  3. UNU-IIST, Macau SAR, China

    Antonio Cerone

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Gabbay, M.J., Mathijssen, A. (2006). Capture-Avoiding Substitution as a Nominal Algebra. In: Barkaoui, K., Cavalcanti, A., Cerone, A. (eds) Theoretical Aspects of Computing - ICTAC 2006. ICTAC 2006. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 4281. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/11921240_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/11921240_14

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-48815-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-48816-3

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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