In Praise of Impredicativity: A Contribution to the Formalization of Meta-Programming. Issue 1 (25th February 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: BRY, FRANÇOIS
• Is Part Of: Theory and practice of logic programming. Volume 20:Issue 1(2020)
• Page Start: 99
• Page End: 146
• Publication Date: 2019-02-25
• Subjects: logic programming, -- meta-programming, -- model theory, -- Barber Paradox, -- Russell's Paradox, -- reflection; Logic programming -- Periodicals; Artificial intelligence -- Computer programs -- Periodicals; Constraint programming (Computer science) -- Periodicals; 005.115
• DOI: 10.1017/S1471068419000024
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1471-0684

Abstract

Abstract: Processing programs as data is one of the successes of functional and logic programming. Higher-order functions, as program-processing programs are called in functional programming, and meta-programs, as they are called in logic programming, are widespread declarative programming techniques. In logic programming, there is a gap between the meta-programming practice and its theory: The formalizations of meta-programming do not explicitly address its impredicativity and are not fully adequate. This article aims at overcoming this unsatisfactory situation by discussing the relevance of impredicativity to meta-programming, by revisiting former formalizations of meta-programming, and by defining Reflective Predicate Logic, a conservative extension of first-order logic, which provides a simple formalization of meta-programming.