Epigram (programming language)

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Paradigm Functional
Designed by Conor McBride and
James McKinna
Developer Unmaintained
Appeared in 2004
1 / October 11, 2006 (2006-10-11)
strong, static, dependent
OS Cross-platform: Linux, Windows, Mac OS X
License MIT[1]

Epigram is the name of a functional programming language with dependent types. Epigram also refers to the IDE usually packaged with the language. Epigram's type system is strong enough to express program specifications. The goal is to support a smooth transition from ordinary programming to integrated programs and proofs whose correctness can be checked and certified by the compiler. Epigram exploits the propositions as types principle, and is based on intuitionistic type theory.

The Epigram prototype was implemented by Conor McBride based on joint work with James McKinna. Its development is continued by the Epigram group in Nottingham, Durham, St Andrews and Royal Holloway in the UK. The current experimental implementation of the Epigram system is freely available together with a user manual, a tutorial and some background material. The system has been used under Linux, Windows and Mac OS X.

It is currently unmaintained, and version 2, which was intended to implement Observational Type Theory, was never released.


Epigram uses a two-dimensional, natural deduction style syntax, with a LaTeX version and an ASCII version. Here are some examples from The Epigram Tutorial:


The natural numbers[edit]

The following declaration defines the natural numbers:

     (         !       (          !   (  n : Nat  !
data !---------! where !----------! ; !-----------!

The declaration says that Nat is a type with kind * (i.e., it is a simple type) and two constructors: zero and suc. The constructor suc takes a single Nat argument and returns a Nat. This is equivalent to the Haskell declaration "data Nat = Zero | Suc Nat".

In LaTeX, the code is displayed as:

\underline{\mathrm{data}} \; \left(\frac{}{\mathsf{Nat} : \star}\right) \; \underline{\mathrm{where}} \;
        \left(\frac{}{\mathsf{zero} : \mathsf{Nat}}\right) \; ; \;
        \left(\frac{n : \mathsf{Nat}}{\mathsf{suc}\ n : \mathsf{Nat}}\right)

The horizontal-line notation can be read as "assuming (what is on the top) is true, we can infer that (what is on the bottom) is true." For example, "assuming n is of type Nat, then suc n is of type Nat." If nothing is on the top, then the bottom statement is always true: "zero is of type Nat (in all cases)."

Recursion on naturals[edit]

\mathsf{NatInd} : \begin{matrix}
        \forall P : \mathsf{Nat} \rightarrow \star \Rightarrow P\ \mathsf{zero} \rightarrow \\
        (\forall n : \mathsf{Nat} \Rightarrow P\ n \rightarrow P\ (\mathsf{suc}\ n)) \rightarrow\\

\mathsf{NatInd}\ P\ mz\ ms\ \mathsf{zero} \equiv mz

\mathsf{NatInd}\ P\ mz\ ms\ (\mathsf{suc}\ n) \equiv ms\ n\ (NatInd\ P\ mz\ ms\ n)

...And in ASCII:

NatInd : all P : Nat -> * => P zero ->
         (all n : Nat => P n -> P (suc n)) ->
         all n : Nat => P n
NatInd P mz ms zero => mz
NatInd P mz ms (suc n) => ms n (NatInd P mz ms n)


\mathsf{plus}\ x\ y \Leftarrow \underline{\mathrm{rec}}\ x\ \{
    \mathsf{plus}\ x\ y \Leftarrow \underline{\mathrm{case}}\ x\ \{
        \mathsf{plus\ zero}\ y \Rightarrow y
        \quad\quad \mathsf{plus}\ (\mathsf{suc}\ x)\ y \Rightarrow suc\ (\mathsf{plus}\ x\ y)\ \}\ \}

...And in ASCII:

plus x y <= rec x {
  plus x y <= case x {
    plus zero y => y
    plus (suc x) y => suc (plus x y)

Dependent types[edit]

Epigram is essentially a typed lambda calculus with generalized algebraic data type extensions, except for two extensions. First, types are first-class entities, of type \star; types are arbitrary expressions of type \star, and type equivalence is defined in terms of the types' normal forms. Second, it has a dependent function type; instead of P \rightarrow Q, \forall x : P \Rightarrow Q, where x is bound in Q to the value that the function's argument (of type P) eventually takes.

Full dependent types, as implemented in Epigram, are a powerful abstraction. (Unlike in Dependent ML, the value(s) depended upon may be of any valid type.) A sample of the new formal specification capabilities dependent types bring may be found in The Epigram Tutorial.

See also[edit]

  • Alf, a proof assistant among the predecessors of Epigram.

Further reading[edit]

  • Conor McBride and James McKinna (2004), The view from the left, Journal of Functional Programming
  • Conor McBride (2004), The Epigram Prototype, a nod and two winks
  • Conor McBride (2004), The Epigram Tutorial
  • Thorsten Altenkirch, Conor McBride and James McKinna (2005), Why Dependent Types Matter

External links[edit]

  • EPSRC on ALF, lego and related