Grokking the Sequent Calculus (Functional Pearl)
Abstract
The sequent calculus is a proof system which was designed as a more symmetric alternative to natural deduction. The {\lambda}{\mu}{\mu}-calculus is a term assignment system for the sequent calculus and a great foundation for compiler intermediate languages due to its first-class representation of evaluation contexts. Unfortunately, only experts of the sequent calculus can appreciate its beauty. To remedy this, we present the first introduction to the {\lambda}{\mu}{\mu}-calculus which is not directed at type theorists or logicians but at compiler hackers and programming-language enthusiasts. We do this by writing a compiler from a small but interesting surface language to the {\lambda}{\mu}{\mu}-calculus as a compiler intermediate language.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2406.14719,
title = {Grokking the Sequent Calculus (Functional Pearl)},
author = {David Binder and Marco Tzschentke and Marius Müller and Klaus Ostermann},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2406.14719},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
Preprint of the paper accepted at ICFP '24