Fully Abstract Translations and Parametric Polymorphism

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Peter W. O'Hearn, Jon G. Riecke

Published: 01 Jan 1994, Last Modified: 16 May 2025ESOP 1994EveryoneRevisionsBibTeXCC BY-SA 4.0
Abstract: We examine three languages: call-by-name PCF; an idealized version of Algol called IA; and a call-by-name version of the functional core of ML with a parallel conditional, called PPCF+XML. Syntactic translations from PCF and IA into PPCF+XML are given and shown to be fully abstract, in the sense that they preserve and reflect observational equivalence. We believe that these results suggest the potential unifying force of Strachey's concept of parametric polymorphism.