Files
sf1/ProofObjects.v
2026-03-10 14:42:27 +09:00

947 lines
33 KiB
Coq

(** * ProofObjects: The Curry-Howard Correspondence *)
Set Warnings "-notation-overridden,-notation-incompatible-prefix".
From LF Require Export IndProp.
(** "Algorithms are the computational content of proofs."
(Robert Harper) *)
(** We have seen that Rocq has mechanisms both for _programming_,
using inductive data types like [nat] or [list] and functions over
these types, and for _proving_ properties of these programs, using
inductive propositions (like [ev]), implication, universal
quantification, and the like. So far, we have mostly treated
these mechanisms as if they were quite separate, and for many
purposes this is a good way to think. But we have also seen hints
that Rocq's programming and proving facilities are closely related.
For example, the keyword [Inductive] is used to declare both data
types and propositions, and [->] is used both to describe the type
of functions on data and logical implication. This is not just a
syntactic accident! In fact, programs and proofs in Rocq are
almost the same thing. In this chapter we will study this connection
in more detail.
We have already seen the fundamental idea: provability in Rocq is
always witnessed by _evidence_. When we construct the proof of a
basic proposition, we are actually building a tree of evidence,
which can be thought of as a concrete data structure.
If the proposition is an implication like [A -> B], then its proof
is an evidence _transformer_: a recipe for converting evidence for
A into evidence for B. So at a fundamental level, proofs are
simply programs that manipulate evidence. *)
(** Question: If evidence is data, what are propositions themselves?
Answer: They are types! *)
(** Look again at the formal definition of the [ev] property. *)
Inductive ev : nat -> Prop :=
| ev_0 : ev 0
| ev_SS (n : nat) (H : ev n) : ev (S (S n)).
(** We can pronounce the ":" here as either "has type" or "is a proof
of." For example, the second line in the definition of [ev]
declares that [ev_0 : ev 0]. Instead of "[ev_0] has type [ev 0],"
we can say that "[ev_0] is a proof of [ev 0]." *)
(** This pun between types and propositions -- between [:] as "has type"
and [:] as "is a proof of" or "is evidence for" -- is called the
_Curry-Howard correspondence_. It proposes a deep connection
between the world of logic and the world of computation:
propositions ~ types
proofs ~ programs
See [Wadler 2015] (in Bib.v) for a brief history and modern exposition. *)
(** Many useful insights follow from this connection. To begin with,
it gives us a natural interpretation of the type of the [ev_SS]
constructor: *)
Check ev_SS
: forall n,
ev n ->
ev (S (S n)).
(** This can be read "[ev_SS] is a constructor that takes two
arguments -- a number [n] and evidence for the proposition [ev
n] -- and yields evidence for the proposition [ev (S (S n))]." *)
(** Now let's look again at an earlier proof involving [ev]. *)
Theorem ev_4 : ev 4.
Proof.
apply ev_SS. apply ev_SS. apply ev_0. Qed.
(** Just as with ordinary data values and functions, we can use the
[Print] command to see the _proof object_ that results from this
proof script. *)
Print ev_4.
(* ===> ev_4 = ev_SS 2 (ev_SS 0 ev_0)
: ev 4 *)
(** Indeed, we can also write down this proof object directly,
with no need for a proof script at all: *)
Check (ev_SS 2 (ev_SS 0 ev_0))
: ev 4.
(** The expression [ev_SS 2 (ev_SS 0 ev_0)] instantiates the
parameterized constructor [ev_SS] with the specific arguments [2]
and [0] plus the corresponding proof objects for its premises [ev
2] and [ev 0]. Alternatively, we can think of [ev_SS] as a
primitive "evidence constructor" that, when applied to a
particular number, wants to be further applied to evidence that
this number is even; its type,
forall n, ev n -> ev (S (S n)),
expresses this functionality, in the same way that the polymorphic
type [forall X, list X] expresses the fact that the constructor
[nil] can be thought of as a function from types to empty lists
with elements of that type. *)
(** We saw in the [Logic] chapter that we can use function
application syntax to instantiate universally quantified variables
in lemmas, as well as to supply evidence for assumptions that
these lemmas impose. For instance: *)
Theorem ev_4': ev 4.
Proof.
apply (ev_SS 2 (ev_SS 0 ev_0)).
Qed.
(* ################################################################# *)
(** * Proof Scripts *)
(** The _proof objects_ we've been discussing lie at the core of how
Rocq operates. When Rocq is following a proof script, what is
happening internally is that it is gradually constructing a proof
object -- a term whose type is the proposition being proved. The
tactics between [Proof] and [Qed] tell it how to build up a term
of the required type. To see this process in action, let's use
the [Show Proof] command to display the current state of the proof
tree at various points in the following tactic proof. *)
Theorem ev_4'' : ev 4.
Proof.
Show Proof.
apply ev_SS.
Show Proof.
apply ev_SS.
Show Proof.
apply ev_0.
Show Proof.
Qed.
(** At any given moment, Rocq has constructed a term with a
"hole" (indicated by [?Goal] here, and so on), and it knows what
type of evidence is needed to fill this hole.
Each hole corresponds to a subgoal, and the proof is
finished when there are no more subgoals. At this point, the
evidence we've built is stored in the global context under the name
given in the [Theorem] command. *)
(** Tactic proofs are convenient, but they are not essential in Rocq:
in principle, we can always just construct the required evidence
by hand. Then we can use [Definition] (rather than [Theorem]) to
introduce a global name for this evidence. *)
Definition ev_4''' : ev 4 :=
ev_SS 2 (ev_SS 0 ev_0).
(** All these different ways of building the proof lead to exactly the
same evidence being saved in the global environment. *)
Print ev_4.
(* ===> ev_4 = ev_SS 2 (ev_SS 0 ev_0) : ev 4 *)
Print ev_4'.
(* ===> ev_4' = ev_SS 2 (ev_SS 0 ev_0) : ev 4 *)
Print ev_4''.
(* ===> ev_4'' = ev_SS 2 (ev_SS 0 ev_0) : ev 4 *)
Print ev_4'''.
(* ===> ev_4''' = ev_SS 2 (ev_SS 0 ev_0) : ev 4 *)
(** **** Exercise: 2 stars, standard (eight_is_even)
Give a tactic proof and a proof object showing that [ev 8]. *)
Theorem ev_8 : ev 8.
Proof.
(* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted.
Definition ev_8' : ev 8
(* REPLACE THIS LINE WITH ":= _your_definition_ ." *). Admitted.
(** [] *)
(* ################################################################# *)
(** * Quantifiers, Implications, Functions *)
(** In Rocq's computational universe (where data structures and
programs live), there are two sorts of values that have arrows in
their types: _constructors_ introduced by [Inductive]ly defined
data types, and _functions_.
Similarly, in Rocq's logical universe (where we carry out proofs),
there are two ways of giving evidence for an implication:
constructors introduced by [Inductive]ly defined propositions,
and... functions! *)
(** For example, consider this statement: *)
Theorem ev_plus4 : forall n, ev n -> ev (4 + n).
Proof.
intros n H. simpl.
apply ev_SS.
apply ev_SS.
apply H.
Qed.
(** What is the proof object corresponding to [ev_plus4]? *)
(** We're looking for an expression whose _type_ is [forall n, ev n ->
ev (4 + n)] -- that is, a _function_ that takes two arguments (one
number and a piece of evidence) and returns a piece of evidence!
Here it is: *)
Definition ev_plus4' : forall n, ev n -> ev (4 + n) :=
fun (n : nat) => fun (H : ev n) =>
ev_SS (S (S n)) (ev_SS n H).
(** Recall that [fun n => blah] means "the function that, given [n],
yields [blah]," and that Rocq treats [4 + n] and [S (S (S (S n)))]
as synonyms. Another equivalent way to write this definition is: *)
Definition ev_plus4'' (n : nat) (H : ev n)
: ev (4 + n) :=
ev_SS (S (S n)) (ev_SS n H).
Check ev_plus4'' : forall n : nat, ev n -> ev (4 + n).
(** When we view the proposition being proved by [ev_plus4] as a
function type, one interesting point becomes apparent: The second
argument's type, [ev n], mentions the _value_ of the first
argument, [n].
While such _dependent types_ are not found in most mainstream
programming languages, they can be quite useful in programming
too, as the flurry of activity in the functional programming
community over the past couple of decades demonstrates. *)
(** Notice that both implication ([->]) and quantification ([forall])
correspond to functions on evidence. In fact, they are really the
same thing: [->] is just a shorthand for a degenerate use of
[forall] where there is no dependency, i.e., no need to give a
name to the type on the left-hand side of the arrow:
forall (x:nat), nat
= forall (_:nat), nat
= nat -> nat
*)
(** For example, consider this proposition: *)
Definition ev_plus2 : Prop :=
forall n, forall (E : ev n), ev (n + 2).
(** A proof term inhabiting this proposition would be a function
with two arguments: a number [n] and some evidence [E] that [n] is
even. But the name [E] for this evidence is not used in the rest
of the statement of [ev_plus2], so it's a bit silly to bother
making up a name for it. We could write it like this instead,
using the dummy identifier [_] in place of a real name: *)
Definition ev_plus2' : Prop :=
forall n, forall (_ : ev n), ev (n + 2).
(** Or, equivalently, we can write it in a more familiar way: *)
Definition ev_plus2'' : Prop :=
forall n, ev n -> ev (n + 2).
(** In general, "[P -> Q]" is just syntactic sugar for
"[forall (_:P), Q]". *)
(* ################################################################# *)
(** * Programming with Tactics *)
(** If we can build proofs by giving explicit terms rather than
executing tactic scripts, you may wonder whether we can build
_programs_ using tactics rather than by writing down explicit
terms.
Naturally, the answer is yes! *)
Definition add2 : nat -> nat.
intros n.
Show Proof.
apply S.
Show Proof.
apply S.
Show Proof.
apply n. Defined.
Print add2.
(* ==>
add2 = fun n : nat => S (S n)
: nat -> nat
*)
Compute add2 2.
(* ==> 4 : nat *)
(** Notice that we terminated the [Definition] with a [.] rather than
with [:=] followed by a term. This tells Rocq to enter _proof
scripting mode_ to build an object of type [nat -> nat]. Also, we
terminate the proof with [Defined] rather than [Qed]; this makes
the definition _transparent_ so that it can be used in computation
like a normally-defined function. ([Qed]-defined objects are
opaque during computation.)
This feature is mainly useful for writing functions with dependent
types, which we won't explore much further in this book. But it
does illustrate the uniformity and orthogonality of the basic
ideas in Rocq. *)
(* ################################################################# *)
(** * Logical Connectives as Inductive Types *)
(** Inductive definitions are powerful enough to express most of the
logical connectives we have seen so far. Indeed, only universal
quantification (with implication as a special case) is built into
Rocq; all the others are defined inductively.
Let's see how. *)
Module Props.
(* ================================================================= *)
(** ** Conjunction *)
(** To prove that [P /\ Q] holds, we must present evidence for both
[P] and [Q]. Thus, it makes sense to define a proof object for
[P /\ Q] to consist of a pair of two proofs: one for [P] and
another one for [Q]. This leads to the following definition. *)
Module And.
Inductive and (P Q : Prop) : Prop :=
| conj : P -> Q -> and P Q.
Arguments conj [P] [Q].
Notation "P /\ Q" := (and P Q) : type_scope.
(** Notice the similarity with the definition of the [prod] type,
given in chapter [Poly]; the only difference is that [prod] takes
[Type] arguments, whereas [and] takes [Prop] arguments. *)
Print prod.
(* ===>
Inductive prod (X Y : Type) : Type :=
| pair : X -> Y -> X * Y. *)
(** This similarity should clarify why [destruct] and [intros]
patterns can be used on a conjunctive hypothesis. Case analysis
allows us to consider all possible ways in which [P /\ Q] was
proved -- here just one (the [conj] constructor). *)
Theorem proj1' : forall P Q,
P /\ Q -> P.
Proof.
intros P Q HPQ. destruct HPQ as [HP HQ]. apply HP.
Show Proof.
Qed.
(** Similarly, the [split] tactic actually works for any inductively
defined proposition with exactly one constructor. In particular,
it works for [and]: *)
Lemma and_comm : forall P Q : Prop, P /\ Q <-> Q /\ P.
Proof.
intros P Q. split.
- intros [HP HQ]. split.
+ apply HQ.
+ apply HP.
- intros [HQ HP]. split.
+ apply HP.
+ apply HQ.
Qed.
End And.
(** This shows why the inductive definition of [and] can be
manipulated by tactics as we've been doing. We can also use it to
build proofs directly, using pattern-matching. For instance: *)
Definition proj1'' P Q (HPQ : P /\ Q) : P :=
match HPQ with
| conj HP HQ => HP
end.
Definition and_comm'_aux P Q (H : P /\ Q) : Q /\ P :=
match H with
| conj HP HQ => conj HQ HP
end.
Definition and_comm' P Q : P /\ Q <-> Q /\ P :=
conj (and_comm'_aux P Q) (and_comm'_aux Q P).
(** **** Exercise: 2 stars, standard (conj_fact)
Construct a proof object for the following proposition. *)
Definition conj_fact : forall P Q R, P /\ Q -> Q /\ R -> P /\ R
(* REPLACE THIS LINE WITH ":= _your_definition_ ." *). Admitted.
(** [] *)
(* ================================================================= *)
(** ** Disjunction *)
(** The inductive definition of disjunction uses two constructors, one
for each side of the disjunction: *)
Module Or.
Inductive or (P Q : Prop) : Prop :=
| or_introl : P -> or P Q
| or_intror : Q -> or P Q.
Arguments or_introl [P] [Q].
Arguments or_intror [P] [Q].
Notation "P \/ Q" := (or P Q) : type_scope.
(** This declaration explains the behavior of the [destruct] tactic on
a disjunctive hypothesis, since the generated subgoals match the
shape of the [or_introl] and [or_intror] constructors. *)
(** Once again, we can also directly write proof objects for theorems
involving [or], without resorting to tactics. *)
Definition inj_l : forall (P Q : Prop), P -> P \/ Q :=
fun P Q HP => or_introl HP.
Theorem inj_l' : forall (P Q : Prop), P -> P \/ Q.
Proof.
intros P Q HP. left. apply HP.
Show Proof.
Qed.
Definition or_elim : forall (P Q R : Prop), (P \/ Q) -> (P -> R) -> (Q -> R) -> R :=
fun P Q R HPQ HPR HQR =>
match HPQ with
| or_introl HP => HPR HP
| or_intror HQ => HQR HQ
end.
Theorem or_elim' : forall (P Q R : Prop), (P \/ Q) -> (P -> R) -> (Q -> R) -> R.
Proof.
intros P Q R HPQ HPR HQR.
destruct HPQ as [HP | HQ].
- apply HPR. apply HP.
- apply HQR. apply HQ.
Qed.
End Or.
(** **** Exercise: 2 stars, standard (or_commut')
Construct a proof object for the following proposition. *)
Definition or_commut' : forall P Q, P \/ Q -> Q \/ P
(* REPLACE THIS LINE WITH ":= _your_definition_ ." *). Admitted.
(** [] *)
(* ================================================================= *)
(** ** Existential Quantification *)
(** To give evidence for an existential quantifier, we package a
witness [x] together with a proof that [x] satisfies the property
[P]: *)
Module Ex.
Inductive ex {A : Type} (P : A -> Prop) : Prop :=
| ex_intro : forall x : A, P x -> ex P.
Notation "'exists' x , p" :=
(ex (fun x => p))
(at level 200, right associativity) : type_scope.
End Ex.
(** This probably needs a little unpacking. The core definition is
for a type former [ex] that can be used to build propositions of
the form [ex P], where [P] itself is a _function_ from witness
values in the type [A] to propositions. The [ex_intro]
constructor then offers a way of constructing evidence for [ex P],
given a witness [x] and a proof of [P x].
The notation in the standard library is a slight extension of
the above, enabling syntactic forms such as [exists x y, P x y]. *)
(** The more familiar form [exists x, ev x] desugars to an expression
involving [ex]: *)
Check ex (fun n => ev n) : Prop.
(** Here's how to define an explicit proof object involving [ex]: *)
Definition some_nat_is_even : exists n, ev n :=
ex_intro ev 4 (ev_SS 2 (ev_SS 0 ev_0)).
(** **** Exercise: 2 stars, standard (ex_ev_Sn)
Construct a proof object for the following proposition. *)
Definition ex_ev_Sn : ex (fun n => ev (S n))
(* REPLACE THIS LINE WITH ":= _your_definition_ ." *). Admitted.
(** [] *)
(** To destruct existentials in a proof term we simply use match: *)
Definition dist_exists_or_term (X:Type) (P Q : X -> Prop) :
(exists x, P x \/ Q x) -> (exists x, P x) \/ (exists x, Q x) :=
fun H => match H with
| ex_intro _ x Hx =>
match Hx with
| or_introl HPx => or_introl (ex_intro _ x HPx)
| or_intror HQx => or_intror (ex_intro _ x HQx)
end
end.
(** **** Exercise: 2 stars, standard (ex_match)
Construct a proof object for the following proposition: *)
Definition ex_match : forall (A : Type) (P Q : A -> Prop),
(forall x, P x -> Q x) ->
(exists x, P x) -> (exists x, Q x)
(* REPLACE THIS LINE WITH ":= _your_definition_ ." *). Admitted.
(** [] *)
(* ================================================================= *)
(** ** [True] and [False] *)
(** The inductive definition of the [True] proposition is simple: *)
Inductive True : Prop :=
| I : True.
(** It has one constructor (so every proof of [True] is the same, so
being given a proof of [True] is not informative.) *)
(** **** Exercise: 1 star, standard (p_implies_true)
Construct a proof object for the following proposition. *)
Definition p_implies_true : forall P, P -> True
(* REPLACE THIS LINE WITH ":= _your_definition_ ." *). Admitted.
(** [] *)
(** [False] is equally simple -- indeed, so simple it may look
syntactically wrong at first glance! *)
Inductive False : Prop := .
(** That is, [False] is an inductive type with _no_ constructors --
i.e., no way to build evidence for it. For example, there is
no way to complete the following definition such that it
succeeds. *)
Fail
Definition contra : False :=
42.
(** But it is possible to destruct [False] by pattern matching. There can
be no patterns that match it, since it has no constructors. So
the pattern match also is so simple it may look syntactically
wrong at first glance. *)
Definition false_implies_zero_eq_one : False -> 0 = 1 :=
fun contra => match contra with end.
(** Since there are no branches to evaluate, the [match] expression
can be considered to have any type we want, including [0 = 1].
Fortunately, it's impossible to ever cause the [match] to be
evaluated, because we can never construct a value of type [False]
to pass to the function. *)
(** **** Exercise: 1 star, standard (ex_falso_quodlibet')
Construct a proof object for the following proposition. *)
Definition ex_falso_quodlibet' : forall P, False -> P
(* REPLACE THIS LINE WITH ":= _your_definition_ ." *). Admitted.
(** [] *)
End Props.
(* ################################################################# *)
(** * Equality *)
(** Even Rocq's equality relation is not built in. We can define
it ourselves: *)
Module EqualityPlayground.
Inductive eq {X:Type} : X -> X -> Prop :=
| eq_refl : forall x, eq x x.
Notation "x == y" := (eq x y)
(at level 70, no associativity)
: type_scope.
(** The way to think about this definition (which is just a slight
variant of the standard library's) is that, given a set [X], it
defines a _family_ of propositions "[x] is equal to [y]," indexed
by pairs of values ([x] and [y]) from [X]. There is just one way
of constructing evidence for members of this family: applying the
constructor [eq_refl] to a type [X] and a single value [x : X],
which yields evidence that [x] is equal to [x].
Other types of the form [eq x y] where [x] and [y] are not the
same are thus uninhabited. *)
(** We can use [eq_refl] to construct evidence that, for example, [2 =
2]. Can we also use it to construct evidence that [1 + 1 = 2]?
Yes, we can. Indeed, it is the very same piece of evidence!
The reason is that Rocq treats as "the same" any two terms that are
_convertible_ according to a simple set of computation rules.
These rules, which are similar to those used by [Compute], include
evaluation of function application, inlining of definitions, and
simplification of [match]es. *)
Lemma four: 2 + 2 == 1 + 3.
Proof.
apply eq_refl.
Qed.
(** The [reflexivity] tactic that we have used to prove
equalities up to now is essentially just shorthand for [apply
eq_refl].
In tactic-based proofs of equality, the conversion rules are
normally hidden in uses of [simpl] (either explicit or implicit in
other tactics such as [reflexivity]).
But you can see them directly at work in the following explicit
proof objects: *)
Definition four' : 2 + 2 == 1 + 3 :=
eq_refl 4.
Definition singleton : forall (X:Type) (x:X), []++[x] == x::[] :=
fun (X:Type) (x:X) => eq_refl [x].
(** We can also pattern-match on an equality proof: *)
Definition eq_add : forall (n1 n2 : nat), n1 == n2 -> (S n1) == (S n2) :=
fun n1 n2 Heq =>
match Heq with
| eq_refl n => eq_refl (S n)
end.
(** By pattern-matching against [n1 == n2], we obtain a term [n]
that replaces [n1] and [n2] in the type we have to produce, so
instead of [(S n1) == (S n2)], we now have to produce something
of type [(S n) == (S n)], which we establish by [eq_refl (S n)]. *)
(** A tactic-based proof runs into some difficulties if we try to use
our usual repertoire of tactics, such as [rewrite] and
[reflexivity]. Those work with *setoid* relations that Rocq knows
about, such as [=], but not our [==]. We could prove to Rocq that
[==] is a setoid, but a simpler way is to use [destruct] and
[apply] instead. *)
Theorem eq_add' : forall (n1 n2 : nat), n1 == n2 -> (S n1) == (S n2).
Proof.
intros n1 n2 Heq.
Fail rewrite Heq. (* doesn't work for _our_ == relation *)
destruct Heq as [n]. (* n1 and n2 replaced by n in the goal! *)
Fail reflexivity. (* doesn't work for _our_ == relation *)
apply eq_refl.
Qed.
(** **** Exercise: 2 stars, standard (eq_cons)
Construct the proof object for the following theorem. Use pattern
matching on the equality hypotheses. *)
Definition eq_cons : forall (X : Type) (h1 h2 : X) (t1 t2 : list X),
h1 == h2 -> t1 == t2 -> h1 :: t1 == h2 :: t2
(* REPLACE THIS LINE WITH ":= _your_definition_ ." *). Admitted.
(** [] *)
(** **** Exercise: 2 stars, standard (equality__leibniz_equality)
The inductive definition of equality implies _Leibniz equality_:
what we mean when we say "[x] and [y] are equal" is that every
property on [P] that is true of [x] is also true of [y]. Prove
that. *)
Lemma equality__leibniz_equality : forall (X : Type) (x y: X),
x == y -> forall (P : X -> Prop), P x -> P y.
Proof.
(* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted.
(** [] *)
(** **** Exercise: 2 stars, standard (equality__leibniz_equality_term)
Construct the proof object for the previous exercise. All it
requires is anonymous functions and pattern-matching; the large
proof term constructed by tactics in the previous exercise is
needessly complicated. Hint: pattern-match as soon as possible. *)
Definition equality__leibniz_equality_term : forall (X : Type) (x y: X),
x == y -> forall P : (X -> Prop), P x -> P y
(* REPLACE THIS LINE WITH ":= _your_definition_ ." *). Admitted.
(** [] *)
(** **** Exercise: 3 stars, standard, optional (leibniz_equality__equality)
Show that, in fact, the inductive definition of equality is
_equivalent_ to Leibniz equality. Hint: the proof is quite short;
about all you need to do is to invent a clever property [P] to
instantiate the antecedent.*)
Lemma leibniz_equality__equality : forall (X : Type) (x y: X),
(forall P:X->Prop, P x -> P y) -> x == y.
Proof.
(* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted.
(** [] *)
End EqualityPlayground.
(* ================================================================= *)
(** ** Inversion, Again *)
(** We've seen [inversion] used with both equality hypotheses and
hypotheses about inductively defined propositions. Now that we've
seen that these are actually the same thing, we're in a position
to take a closer look at how [inversion] behaves.
In general, the [inversion] tactic...
- takes a hypothesis [H] whose type [P] is inductively defined,
and
- for each constructor [C] in [P]'s definition,
- generates a new subgoal in which we assume [H] was
built with [C],
- adds the arguments (premises) of [C] to the context of
the subgoal as extra hypotheses,
- matches the conclusion (result type) of [C] against the
current goal and calculates a set of equalities that must
hold in order for [C] to be applicable,
- adds these equalities to the context (and, for convenience,
rewrites them in the goal), and
- if the equalities are not satisfiable (e.g., they involve
things like [S n = O]), immediately solves the subgoal. *)
(** _Example_: If we invert a hypothesis built with [or], there are
two constructors, so two subgoals get generated. The
conclusion (result type) of the constructor ([P \/ Q]) doesn't
place any restrictions on the form of [P] or [Q], so we don't get
any extra equalities in the context of the subgoal. *)
(** _Example_: If we invert a hypothesis built with [and], there is
only one constructor, so only one subgoal gets generated. Again,
the conclusion (result type) of the constructor ([P /\ Q]) doesn't
place any restrictions on the form of [P] or [Q], so we don't get
any extra equalities in the context of the subgoal. The
constructor does have two arguments, though, and these can be seen
in the context in the subgoal. *)
(** _Example_: If we invert a hypothesis built with [eq], there is
again only one constructor, so only one subgoal gets generated.
Now, though, the form of the [eq_refl] constructor does give us
some extra information: it tells us that the two arguments to [eq]
must be the same! The [inversion] tactic adds this fact to the
context. *)
(* ################################################################# *)
(** * Rocq's Trusted Computing Base *)
(** One question that arises with any automated proof assistant
is "why should we trust it?" -- i.e., what if there is a bug in
the implementation that renders all its reasoning suspect?
While it is impossible to allay such concerns completely, the fact
that Rocq is based on the Curry-Howard correspondence gives it a
strong foundation. Because propositions are just types and proofs
are just terms, checking that an alleged proof of a proposition is
valid just amounts to _type-checking_ the term. Type checkers are
relatively small and straightforward programs, so the "trusted
computing base" for Rocq -- the part of the code that we have to
believe is operating correctly -- is small too.
What must a typechecker do? Its primary job is to make sure that
in each function application the expected and actual argument
types match, that the arms of a [match] expression are constructor
patterns belonging to the inductive type being matched over and
all arms of the [match] return the same type, and so on. *)
(** There are a few additional wrinkles:
First, since Rocq types can themselves be expressions, the checker
must normalize these (by using the computation rules) before
comparing them.
Second, the checker must make sure that [match] expressions are
_exhaustive_. That is, there must be an arm for every possible
constructor. To see why, consider the following alleged proof
object: *)
Fail Definition or_bogus : forall P Q, P \/ Q -> P :=
fun (P Q : Prop) (A : P \/ Q) =>
match A with
| or_introl H => H
end.
(** All the types here match correctly, but the [match] only
considers one of the possible constructors for [or]. Rocq's
exhaustiveness check will reject this definition.
Third, the checker must make sure that each recursive function
terminates. It does this using a syntactic check to make sure
that each recursive call is on a subexpression of the original
argument. To see why this is essential, consider this alleged
proof: *)
Fail Fixpoint infinite_loop {X : Type} (n : nat) {struct n} : X :=
infinite_loop n.
Fail Definition falso : False := infinite_loop 0.
(** Recursive function [infinite_loop] purports to return a
value of any type [X] that you would like. (The [struct]
annotation on the function tells Rocq that it recurses on argument
[n], not [X].) Were Rocq to allow [infinite_loop], then [falso]
would be definable, thus giving evidence for [False]. So Rocq rejects
[infinite_loop]. *)
(** Note that the soundness of Rocq depends only on the
correctness of this typechecking engine, not on the tactic
machinery. If there is a bug in a tactic implementation (which
does happen occasionally), that tactic might construct an invalid
proof term. But when you type [Qed], Rocq checks the term for
validity from scratch. Only theorems whose proofs pass the
type-checker can be used in further proof developments. *)
(* ################################################################# *)
(** * More Exercises *)
(** Most of the following theorems were already proved with tactics in
[Logic]. Now construct the proof objects for them
directly. *)
(** **** Exercise: 2 stars, standard (and_assoc) *)
Definition and_assoc : forall P Q R : Prop,
P /\ (Q /\ R) -> (P /\ Q) /\ R
(* REPLACE THIS LINE WITH ":= _your_definition_ ." *). Admitted.
(** [] *)
(** **** Exercise: 3 stars, standard (or_distributes_over_and) *)
Definition or_distributes_over_and : forall P Q R : Prop,
P \/ (Q /\ R) <-> (P \/ Q) /\ (P \/ R)
(* REPLACE THIS LINE WITH ":= _your_definition_ ." *). Admitted.
(** [] *)
(** **** Exercise: 3 stars, standard (negations) *)
Definition double_neg : forall P : Prop,
P -> ~~P
(* REPLACE THIS LINE WITH ":= _your_definition_ ." *). Admitted.
Definition contradiction_implies_anything : forall P Q : Prop,
(P /\ ~P) -> Q
(* REPLACE THIS LINE WITH ":= _your_definition_ ." *). Admitted.
Definition de_morgan_not_or : forall P Q : Prop,
~ (P \/ Q) -> ~P /\ ~Q
(* REPLACE THIS LINE WITH ":= _your_definition_ ." *). Admitted.
(** [] *)
(** **** Exercise: 2 stars, standard (currying) *)
Definition curry : forall P Q R : Prop,
((P /\ Q) -> R) -> (P -> (Q -> R))
(* REPLACE THIS LINE WITH ":= _your_definition_ ." *). Admitted.
Definition uncurry : forall P Q R : Prop,
(P -> (Q -> R)) -> ((P /\ Q) -> R)
(* REPLACE THIS LINE WITH ":= _your_definition_ ." *). Admitted.
(** [] *)
(* ################################################################# *)
(** * Proof Irrelevance (Advanced) *)
(** In [Logic] we saw that functional extensionality could be
added to Rocq. A similar notion about propositions can also
be defined (and added as an axiom, if desired): *)
Definition propositional_extensionality : Prop :=
forall (P Q : Prop), (P <-> Q) -> P = Q.
(** Propositional extensionality asserts that if two propositions are
equivalent -- i.e., each implies the other -- then they are in
fact equal. The _proof objects_ for the propositions might be
syntactically different terms. But propositional extensionality
overlooks that, just as functional extensionality overlooks the
syntactic differences between functions. *)
(** **** Exercise: 1 star, advanced (pe_implies_or_eq)
Prove the following consequence of propositional extensionality. *)
Theorem pe_implies_or_eq :
propositional_extensionality ->
forall (P Q : Prop), (P \/ Q) = (Q \/ P).
Proof.
(* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted.
(** [] *)
(** **** Exercise: 1 star, advanced (pe_implies_true_eq)
Prove that if a proposition [P] is provable, then it is equal to
[True] -- as a consequence of propositional extensionality. *)
Lemma pe_implies_true_eq :
propositional_extensionality ->
forall (P : Prop), P -> True = P.
Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted.
(** [] *)
(** **** Exercise: 3 stars, advanced (pe_implies_pi)
(Acknowledgment: this theorem and its proof technique are inspired
by Gert Smolka's manuscript Modeling and Proving in Computational
Type Theory Using the Coq Proof Assistant, 2021. *)
(** Another, perhaps surprising, consequence of propositional
extensionality is that it implies _proof irrelevance_, which
asserts that all proof objects for a proposition are equal.*)
Definition proof_irrelevance : Prop :=
forall (P : Prop) (pf1 pf2 : P), pf1 = pf2.
(** Prove that fact. Use [pe_implies_true_eq] to establish that the
proposition [P] in [proof_irrelevance] is equal to [True]. Leverage
that equality to establish that both proof objects [pf1] and
[pf2] must be just [I]. *)
Theorem pe_implies_pi :
propositional_extensionality -> proof_irrelevance.
Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted.
(** [] *)
(* 2026-01-07 13:18 *)