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Bidirectional typechecking for higher-rank polymorphism in OCaml, without polymorphic subtyping
(* Compile with:
$ ocamlfind ocamlc -package angstrom,stdio -linkpkg tychk.ml -o tychk
Example use:
$ ./tychk <<EOF
> let f = (fun x -> x) : forall a. a -> a
> in f f
> EOF
input : forall a. a -> a
*)
module AST = struct
type ty =
| TNamed of string
| TFun of ty * ty
| TForall of string * ty
type exp =
| Var of string
| App of exp * exp
| Annot of exp * ty
| Lam of string * exp
| Let of string * exp * exp
end
module Infer = struct
type lvl = int
type ty =
| TNamed of string
| TFun of ty * ty
| TForall of string * ty
(* a type var bound in the context. "Complete and Easy" uses α, β for these *)
| TBoundVar of lvl
| THole of hole ref
and hole =
(* scope: when you fill in the hole, all its bound vars need to have
lvl < scope
*)
| Empty of { scope: lvl }
| Filled of ty
(* An important invariant about the scope of holes: it only ever includes
types in the context, never types bound from 'TForall'.
It's possible to not have this invariant, but it makes everything a *lot*
harder.
*)
(* the type_names are just for pretty-printing *)
type ctx = { type_names: string list; lvl: lvl; env: (string * ty) list }
let initial_ctx: ctx = { type_names = []; lvl = 0; env = [] }
exception TypeError of string
let print_ty (ctx: ctx) ty =
let parens p s = if p then "(" ^ s ^ ")" else s in
let rec helper p = function
| TNamed n -> n
| TFun(a, b) -> parens p (helper true a ^ " -> " ^ helper false b)
| TForall(n, a) -> parens p ("forall " ^ n ^ ". " ^ helper false a)
| TBoundVar lvl -> List.nth ctx.type_names (ctx.lvl - lvl - 1)
| THole hole -> match !hole with
| Empty { scope = lvl } -> Printf.sprintf "?[at lvl %d]" lvl
| Filled a -> helper p a
in helper false ty
let rec ast_ty_to_ty (ast_ty: AST.ty) = match ast_ty with
| TNamed n -> TNamed n
| TFun(a, b) -> TFun (ast_ty_to_ty a, ast_ty_to_ty b)
| TForall(n, a) -> TForall(n, ast_ty_to_ty a)
let add_ty_to_ctx (name: string) (ctx: ctx): ctx =
let rec freshen_name n =
if List.mem n ctx.type_names then freshen_name (n ^ "'") else n in
{ type_names = freshen_name name :: ctx.type_names
; lvl = ctx.lvl + 1
; env = ctx.env }
let add_var_to_ctx (name: string) (ty: ty) (ctx: ctx): ctx =
{ type_names = ctx.type_names
; lvl = ctx.lvl
; env = (name, ty) :: ctx.env }
let lookup_var (name: string) (ctx: ctx) =
match List.assoc_opt name ctx.env with
| Some ty -> ty
| None -> raise (TypeError ("variable " ^ name ^ " not in scope"))
let subst name replacement ty =
let rec helper = function
| TNamed n ->
if n = name then replacement else TNamed n
| TFun (a, b) -> TFun (helper a, helper b)
| TForall (n, a) ->
if n = name then TForall (n, a) else TForall (n, helper a)
| TBoundVar l -> TBoundVar l
| THole hole ->
match !hole with
| Empty _ -> THole hole
| Filled a -> helper a
in helper ty
(* fill in a TForall(name, ty) with a fresh hole *)
let instantiate (ctx: ctx) name ty =
let newHole = ref (Empty { scope = ctx.lvl }) in
subst name (THole newHole) ty
(* when filling in a hole, a few things need to be checked:
- occurs check: check that you aren't making recursive types
- scope check: check that you aren't using bound vars outside its scope
*)
let unify_hole_prechecks (ctx: ctx) (hole: hole ref) (scope: lvl) ty =
let rec helper = function
| TNamed _ -> ()
| TFun (a, b) -> helper a; helper b
| TForall (n, a) -> helper a
| TBoundVar l ->
if l >= scope
then raise (TypeError ("type variable " ^ print_ty ctx (TBoundVar l) ^ " escaping its scope"))
| THole h ->
if h = hole
then raise (TypeError "occurs check: can't make infinite type")
else match !h with
| Empty { scope = l } -> if l > scope then h := Empty { scope = scope }
| Filled a -> helper a
in helper ty
let rec unify (ctx: ctx) a b =
let raise_error () = raise (TypeError
("mismatch between " ^ print_ty ctx a ^ " and " ^ print_ty ctx b)) in
match a, b with
| THole hole_a, _ -> unify_hole_ty ctx hole_a b
| _, THole hole_b -> unify_hole_ty ctx hole_b a
| TNamed name_a, TNamed name_b ->
if name_a <> name_b then raise_error ()
| TFun (a1, a2), TFun (b1, b2) -> unify ctx a1 b1; unify ctx a2 b2
| TForall (name_a, ty_a), TForall (name_b, ty_b) ->
(* alpha equivalence: forall a. a -> a is equal to forall b. b -> b *)
let new_ctx = add_ty_to_ctx name_a ctx in
let ty_a' = subst name_a (TBoundVar ctx.lvl) ty_a in
let ty_b' = subst name_b (TBoundVar ctx.lvl) ty_b in
unify new_ctx ty_a' ty_b'
| TBoundVar lvl_a, TBoundVar lvl_b ->
if lvl_a <> lvl_b then raise_error ()
| _ -> raise_error ()
and unify_hole_ty (ctx: ctx) hole ty = match !hole with
| Filled a -> unify ctx a ty
| Empty { scope = scope } ->
if ty = THole hole
then ()
else (unify_hole_prechecks ctx hole scope ty; hole := Filled ty)
(* The mutually-recursive typechecking functions *)
(* check a term has a type *)
let rec check (ctx: ctx) (term: AST.exp) (ty: ty) = match term, ty with
| _, THole { contents = Filled a } -> check ctx term a
| _, TForall(n, a) ->
check (add_ty_to_ctx n ctx) term (subst n (TBoundVar ctx.lvl) a)
| Lam(var, body), TFun(a, b) ->
check (add_var_to_ctx var a ctx) body b
| Let(var, exp, body), a ->
let exp_ty = infer ctx exp in
check (add_var_to_ctx var exp_ty ctx) body a
| _ ->
let inferred_ty = infer ctx term in
(* this is where it could optionally use the fancy <: intead of unification *)
unify ctx inferred_ty ty
(* infer the type of a term *)
and infer (ctx: ctx) (term: AST.exp) = match term with
| Var var -> lookup_var var ctx
| Annot(e, ast_ty) ->
let ty = ast_ty_to_ty ast_ty in
(check ctx e ty; ty)
| App(f, arg) ->
let f_ty = infer ctx f in
apply ctx f_ty arg
| Lam(var, body) ->
let arg_ty = THole (ref (Empty { scope = ctx.lvl })) in
let res_ty = infer (add_var_to_ctx var arg_ty ctx) body in
TFun(arg_ty, res_ty)
| Let(var, exp, body) ->
let exp_ty = infer ctx exp in
infer (add_var_to_ctx var exp_ty ctx) body
(* helper function for checking App(f, arg) *)
(* it has a weird symbol in "Complete and Easy" *)
and apply (ctx: ctx) (f_ty: ty) (arg: AST.exp) = match f_ty with
| TFun(a, b) -> (check ctx arg a; b)
| TForall(n, a) -> apply ctx (instantiate ctx n a) arg
| THole { contents = Filled a } -> apply ctx a arg
| THole ({ contents = Empty { scope } } as hole) ->
let a = THole (ref (Empty { scope })) in
let b = THole (ref (Empty { scope })) in
hole := Filled (TFun(a, b));
check ctx arg a;
b
| _ -> raise (TypeError (print_ty ctx f_ty ^ " is not a function type"))
end
module Parser = struct
open AST
open Angstrom (* parser combinators library *)
let keywords = ["forall"; "let"; "in"; "fun"]
let whitespace = take_while (String.contains " \n\t")
let lexeme a = a <* whitespace
let ident = lexeme (
let is_ident_char c =
c = '_' || ('a' <= c && c <= 'z') || ('A' <= c && c <= 'Z') in
let* i = take_while is_ident_char in
if String.length i > 0 then return i else fail "expected ident")
let str s = lexeme (string s) *> return ()
let name =
let* i = ident in
if List.mem i keywords then fail (i ^ " is a keyword") else return i
let keyword k =
let* i = ident in
if i = k then return () else fail ("expected " ^ k)
let parens p = str "(" *> p <* str ")"
let ty = fix (fun ty ->
let simple_ty = parens ty <|> lift (fun n -> TNamed n) name in
let forall_ty =
let+ () = keyword "forall"
and+ names = many1 name
and+ () = str "."
and+ a = ty in
List.fold_right (fun n a -> TForall(n, a)) names a in
let fun_ty =
let+ arg_ty = simple_ty
and+ () = str "->"
and+ res_ty = ty in
TFun(arg_ty, res_ty) in
forall_ty <|> fun_ty <|> simple_ty <?> "type")
let exp = fix (fun exp ->
let atomic_exp = parens exp <|> lift (fun n -> Var n) name in
let make_app (f::args) =
List.fold_left (fun f arg -> App(f,arg)) f args in
let simple_exp = lift make_app (many1 atomic_exp) in
let annot_exp =
let+ e = simple_exp
and+ annot = option (fun e -> e)
(lift (fun t e -> Annot(e,t)) (str ":" *> ty)) in
annot e in
let let_exp =
let+ () = keyword "let"
and+ n = name
and+ () = str "="
and+ e = exp
and+ () = keyword "in"
and+ body = exp in
Let(n, e, body) in
let fun_exp =
let+ () = keyword "fun"
and+ args = many1 name
and+ () = str "->"
and+ body = exp in
List.fold_right (fun arg body -> Lam(arg, body)) args body in
let_exp <|> fun_exp <|> annot_exp <?> "expression")
let parse (s: string) =
match parse_string ~consume:All (whitespace *> exp) s with
| Ok e -> e
| Error msg -> failwith msg
end
let main () =
let stdin = Stdio.In_channel.(input_all stdin) in
let exp = Parser.parse stdin in
let () = print_endline "parsed" in
let open Infer in
let ctx = initial_ctx in
let ty = infer ctx exp in
print_endline ("input : " ^ print_ty ctx ty)
let () = main ()
(* Version 2: includes let generalization and polymorphic subtyping *)
(* Compile with:
$ ocamlfind ocamlc -package angstrom,stdio -linkpkg tychk_v2.ml -o tychk_v2
Example use:
$ ./tychk_v2 <<EOF
> let f = fun x -> x
> in f f
> EOF
input : forall a. a -> a
*)
module AST = struct
type ty =
| TNamed of string
| TFun of ty * ty
| TForall of string * ty
type exp =
| Var of string
| App of exp * exp
| Annot of exp * ty
| Lam of string * exp
| Let of string * exp * exp
(* | Letrec of string * exp * exp *)
(* I only want let generalization to generalize the types of functions *)
let should_generalize = function
| Lam _ -> true
| _ -> false
end
module Infer = struct
type lvl = int
type ty =
| TNamed of string
| TFun of ty * ty
| TForall of string * ty
(* a type var bound in the context. "Complete and Easy" uses α, β for these *)
| TBoundVar of lvl
| THole of hole ref
and hole =
(* scope: when you fill in the hole, all its bound vars need to have
lvl < scope
*)
| Empty of { scope: lvl }
| Filled of ty
(* An important invariant about the scope of holes: it only ever includes
types in the context, never types bound from 'TForall'.
It's possible to not have this invariant, but it makes everything a *lot*
harder.
*)
(* the type_names are just for pretty-printing *)
type ctx = { type_names: string list; lvl: lvl; env: (string * ty) list }
let initial_ctx: ctx = { type_names = []; lvl = 0; env = [] }
exception TypeError of string
let print_ty (ctx: ctx) ty =
let parens p s = if p then "(" ^ s ^ ")" else s in
let rec helper p = function
| TNamed n -> n
| TFun(a, b) -> parens p (helper true a ^ " -> " ^ helper false b)
| TForall(n, a) -> parens p ("forall " ^ n ^ ". " ^ helper false a)
| TBoundVar lvl -> List.nth ctx.type_names (ctx.lvl - lvl - 1)
| THole hole -> match !hole with
| Empty { scope = lvl } -> Printf.sprintf "?[at lvl %d]" lvl
| Filled a -> helper p a
in helper false ty
let rec ast_ty_to_ty (ast_ty: AST.ty) = match ast_ty with
| TNamed n -> TNamed n
| TFun(a, b) -> TFun (ast_ty_to_ty a, ast_ty_to_ty b)
| TForall(n, a) -> TForall(n, ast_ty_to_ty a)
let add_ty_to_ctx (name: string) (ctx: ctx): ctx =
let rec freshen_name n =
if List.mem n ctx.type_names then freshen_name (n ^ "'") else n in
{ type_names = freshen_name name :: ctx.type_names
; lvl = ctx.lvl + 1
; env = ctx.env }
let add_var_to_ctx (name: string) (ty: ty) (ctx: ctx): ctx =
{ type_names = ctx.type_names
; lvl = ctx.lvl
; env = (name, ty) :: ctx.env }
let lookup_var (name: string) (ctx: ctx) =
match List.assoc_opt name ctx.env with
| Some ty -> ty
| None -> raise (TypeError ("variable " ^ name ^ " not in scope"))
let subst name replacement ty =
let rec helper = function
| TNamed n ->
if n = name then replacement else TNamed n
| TFun (a, b) -> TFun (helper a, helper b)
| TForall (n, a) ->
if n = name then TForall (n, a) else TForall (n, helper a)
| TBoundVar l -> TBoundVar l
| THole hole ->
match !hole with
| Empty _ -> THole hole
| Filled a -> helper a
in helper ty
(* fill in a TForall(name, ty) with a fresh hole *)
let instantiate (ctx: ctx) name ty =
let newHole = ref (Empty { scope = ctx.lvl }) in
subst name (THole newHole) ty
let fresh_type_name : unit -> string =
let counter = ref 0 in
fun () -> (incr counter; "t" ^ string_of_int !counter)
(* let generalization: generalize over all holes at this level *)
let generalize (ctx: ctx) ty =
let new_tyvars = ref [] in
let rec helper = function
| TNamed _ -> ()
| TFun (a, b) -> helper a; helper b
| TForall (n, a) -> helper a
| TBoundVar _ -> ()
| THole { contents = Filled a } -> helper a
| THole ({ contents = Empty { scope } } as hole) ->
if scope > ctx.lvl then begin
let new_tyvar = fresh_type_name () in
hole := Filled (TNamed new_tyvar);
new_tyvars := new_tyvar :: !new_tyvars
end in
helper ty;
List.fold_left (fun a n -> TForall(n, a)) ty !new_tyvars
(* when filling in a hole, a few things need to be checked:
- occurs check: check that you aren't making recursive types
- scope check: check that you aren't using bound vars outside its scope
*)
let unify_hole_prechecks (ctx: ctx) (hole: hole ref) (scope: lvl) ty =
let rec helper = function
| TNamed _ -> ()
| TFun (a, b) -> helper a; helper b
| TForall (n, a) -> helper a
| TBoundVar l ->
if l >= scope
then raise (TypeError ("type variable " ^ print_ty ctx (TBoundVar l) ^ " escaping its scope"))
| THole h ->
if h = hole
then raise (TypeError "occurs check: can't make infinite type")
else match !h with
| Empty { scope = l } -> if l > scope then h := Empty { scope = scope }
| Filled a -> helper a
in helper ty
let rec unify (ctx: ctx) a b =
let raise_error () = raise (TypeError
("mismatch between " ^ print_ty ctx a ^ " and " ^ print_ty ctx b)) in
match a, b with
| THole hole_a, _ -> unify_hole_ty ctx hole_a b
| _, THole hole_b -> unify_hole_ty ctx hole_b a
| TNamed name_a, TNamed name_b ->
if name_a <> name_b then raise_error ()
| TFun (a1, a2), TFun (b1, b2) -> unify ctx a1 b1; unify ctx a2 b2
| TForall (name_a, ty_a), TForall (name_b, ty_b) ->
(* alpha equivalence: forall a. a -> a is equal to forall b. b -> b *)
let new_ctx = add_ty_to_ctx name_a ctx in
let ty_a' = subst name_a (TBoundVar ctx.lvl) ty_a in
let ty_b' = subst name_b (TBoundVar ctx.lvl) ty_b in
unify new_ctx ty_a' ty_b'
| TBoundVar lvl_a, TBoundVar lvl_b ->
if lvl_a <> lvl_b then raise_error ()
| _ -> raise_error ()
and unify_hole_ty (ctx: ctx) hole ty = match !hole with
| Filled a -> unify ctx a ty
| Empty { scope = scope } ->
if ty = THole hole
then ()
else (unify_hole_prechecks ctx hole scope ty; hole := Filled ty)
(* Polymorphic subtyping *)
let rec sub (ctx: ctx) t1 t2 = match t1, t2 with
| THole { contents = Filled a }, b -> sub ctx a b
| a, THole { contents = Filled b } -> sub ctx a b
| THole ({ contents = Empty _ } as hole), b -> sub_hole_ty ctx hole b
| a, THole ({ contents = Empty _ } as hole) -> sub_ty_hole ctx a hole
| a, TForall(n, b) ->
sub (add_ty_to_ctx n ctx) a b
| TForall(n, a), b ->
let a' = instantiate ctx n a in
sub ctx a' b
| TFun(a, a'), TFun(b, b') ->
sub ctx b a;
sub ctx a' b'
(* for everything else, a <: b only when a = b *)
| a, b -> unify ctx a b
and sub_hole_ty (ctx: ctx) hole ty = match ty with
| TForall(n, a) ->
sub_hole_ty (add_ty_to_ctx n ctx) hole a
| TFun (a, b) ->
let Empty { scope } = !hole in
let hole_a = ref (Empty { scope }) in
let hole_b = ref (Empty { scope }) in
hole := Filled (TFun (THole hole_a, THole hole_b));
sub_ty_hole ctx a hole_a;
sub_hole_ty ctx hole_b b
(* for everything else, a <: b only when a = b *)
| a -> unify_hole_ty ctx hole a
and sub_ty_hole (ctx: ctx) ty hole = match ty with
| TForall(n, a) ->
let a' = instantiate ctx n a in
sub_ty_hole ctx a' hole
| TFun(a, b) ->
let Empty { scope } = !hole in
let hole_a = ref (Empty { scope }) in
let hole_b = ref (Empty { scope }) in
hole := Filled (TFun (THole hole_a, THole hole_b));
sub_hole_ty ctx hole_a a;
sub_ty_hole ctx b hole_b
(* for everything else, a <: b only when a = b *)
| a -> unify_hole_ty ctx hole a
(* The mutually-recursive typechecking functions *)
(* check a term has a type *)
let rec check (ctx: ctx) (term: AST.exp) (ty: ty) = match term, ty with
| _, THole { contents = Filled a } -> check ctx term a
| _, TForall(n, a) ->
check (add_ty_to_ctx n ctx) term (subst n (TBoundVar ctx.lvl) a)
| Lam(var, body), TFun(a, b) ->
check (add_var_to_ctx var a ctx) body b
| Let(var, exp, body), a ->
let exp_ty = infer ctx exp in
check (add_var_to_ctx var exp_ty ctx) body a
| _ ->
let inferred_ty = infer ctx term in
sub ctx inferred_ty ty
(* infer the type of a term *)
and infer (ctx: ctx) (term: AST.exp) = match term with
| Var var -> lookup_var var ctx
| Annot(e, ast_ty) ->
let ty = ast_ty_to_ty ast_ty in
(check ctx e ty; ty)
| App(f, arg) ->
let f_ty = infer ctx f in
apply ctx f_ty arg
| Lam(var, body) ->
let arg_ty = THole (ref (Empty { scope = ctx.lvl })) in
let res_ty = infer (add_var_to_ctx var arg_ty ctx) body in
TFun(arg_ty, res_ty)
| Let(var, exp, body) ->
let exp_ty =
if AST.should_generalize exp
then let ty = infer (add_ty_to_ctx "" ctx) exp in generalize ctx ty
else infer ctx exp in
infer (add_var_to_ctx var exp_ty ctx) body
(* helper function for checking App(f, arg) *)
(* it has a weird symbol in "Complete and Easy" *)
and apply (ctx: ctx) (f_ty: ty) (arg: AST.exp) = match f_ty with
| TFun(a, b) -> (check ctx arg a; b)
| TForall(n, a) -> apply ctx (instantiate ctx n a) arg
| THole { contents = Filled a } -> apply ctx a arg
| THole ({ contents = Empty { scope } } as hole) ->
let a = THole (ref (Empty { scope })) in
let b = THole (ref (Empty { scope })) in
hole := Filled (TFun(a, b));
check ctx arg a;
b
| _ -> raise (TypeError (print_ty ctx f_ty ^ " is not a function type"))
end
module Parser = struct
open AST
open Angstrom (* parser combinators library *)
let keywords = ["forall"; "let"; "in"; "fun"]
let whitespace = take_while (String.contains " \n\t")
let lexeme a = a <* whitespace
let ident = lexeme (
let is_ident_char c =
c = '_' || ('a' <= c && c <= 'z') || ('A' <= c && c <= 'Z') in
let* i = take_while is_ident_char in
if String.length i > 0 then return i else fail "expected ident")
let str s = lexeme (string s) *> return ()
let name =
let* i = ident in
if List.mem i keywords then fail (i ^ " is a keyword") else return i
let keyword k =
let* i = ident in
if i = k then return () else fail ("expected " ^ k)
let parens p = str "(" *> p <* str ")"
let ty = fix (fun ty ->
let simple_ty = parens ty <|> lift (fun n -> TNamed n) name in
let forall_ty =
let+ () = keyword "forall"
and+ names = many1 name
and+ () = str "."
and+ a = ty in
List.fold_right (fun n a -> TForall(n, a)) names a in
let fun_ty =
let+ arg_ty = simple_ty
and+ () = str "->"
and+ res_ty = ty in
TFun(arg_ty, res_ty) in
forall_ty <|> fun_ty <|> simple_ty <?> "type")
let exp = fix (fun exp ->
let atomic_exp = parens exp <|> lift (fun n -> Var n) name in
let make_app (f::args) =
List.fold_left (fun f arg -> App(f,arg)) f args in
let simple_exp = lift make_app (many1 atomic_exp) in
let annot_exp =
let+ e = simple_exp
and+ annot = option (fun e -> e)
(lift (fun t e -> Annot(e,t)) (str ":" *> ty)) in
annot e in
let let_exp =
let+ () = keyword "let"
and+ n = name
and+ () = str "="
and+ e = exp
and+ () = keyword "in"
and+ body = exp in
Let(n, e, body) in
let fun_exp =
let+ () = keyword "fun"
and+ args = many1 name
and+ () = str "->"
and+ body = exp in
List.fold_right (fun arg body -> Lam(arg, body)) args body in
let_exp <|> fun_exp <|> annot_exp <?> "expression")
let parse (s: string) =
match parse_string ~consume:All (whitespace *> exp) s with
| Ok e -> e
| Error msg -> failwith msg
end
let main () =
let stdin = Stdio.In_channel.(input_all stdin) in
let exp = Parser.parse stdin in
let () = print_endline "parsed" in
let open Infer in
let ctx = initial_ctx in
let ty = infer ctx exp in
print_endline ("input : " ^ print_ty ctx ty)
let () = main ()
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