The main motivation is that we will be able to move equalities between universes.
For example, suppose we have
A : (Type i)
B : (Type i)
H : @eq (Type j) A B
where j > i
We didn't find any trick for deducing (@eq (Type i) A B) from H.
Before this commit, heterogeneous equality as a constant with type
heq : {A B : (Type U)} : A -> B -> Bool
So, from H, we would only be able to deduce
(@heq (Type j) (Type j) A B)
Not being able to move the equality back to a smaller universe is
problematic in several cases. I list some instances in the end of the commit message.
With this commit, Heterogeneous equality is a special kind of expression.
It is not a constant anymore. From H, we can deduce
H1 : A == B
That is, we are essentially "erasing" the universes when we move to heterogeneous equality.
Now, since A and B have (Type i), we can deduce (@eq (Type i) A B) from H1. The proof term is
(to_eq (Type i) A B (to_heq (Type j) A B H)) : (@eq (Type i) A B)
So, it remains to explain why we need this feature.
For example, suppose we want to state the Pi extensionality axiom.
axiom hpiext {A A' : (Type U)} {B : A → (Type U)} {B' : A' → (Type U)} :
A = A' → (∀ x x', x == x' → B x == B' x') → (∀ x, B x) == (∀ x, B' x)
This axiom produces an "inflated" equality at (Type U) when we treat heterogeneous
equality as a constant. The conclusion
(∀ x, B x) == (∀ x, B' x)
is syntax sugar for
(@heq (Type U) (Type U) (∀ x : A, B x) (∀ x : A', B' x))
Even if A, A', B, B' live in a much smaller universe.
As I described above, it doesn't seem to be a way to move this equality back to a smaller universe.
So, if we wanted to keep the heterogeneous equality as a constant, it seems we would
have to support axiom schemas. That is, hpiext would be parametrized by the universes where
A, A', B and B'. Another possibility would be to have universe polymorphism like Agda.
None of the solutions seem attractive.
So, we decided to have heterogeneous equality as a special kind of expression.
And use the trick above to move equalities back to the right universe.
BTW, the parser is not creating the new heterogeneous equalities yet.
Moreover, kernel.lean still contains a constant name heq2 that is the heterogeneous
equality as a constant.
Signed-off-by: Leonardo de Moura <leonardo@microsoft.com>
The example tests/lua/simp1.lua demonstrates the issue.
The higher-order matcher matches closed terms that are definitionally equal.
So, given a definition
definition a := 1
it will match 'a' with '1' since they are definitionally equal.
Then, if we have a theorem
theorem a_eq_1 : a = 1
as a rewrite rule, it was triggering the following infinite loop when simplifying the expression "a"
a --> 1 --> 1 --> 1 ...
The first simplification is expected. The other ones are not.
The problem is that "1" is definitionally equal to "a", and they match.
The rewrite_rule_set manager accepts the rule a --> 1 since the left-hand-side does not occur in the right-hand-side.
To avoid this loop, we test if the new expression is not equal to the previous one.
Signed-off-by: Leonardo de Moura <leonardo@microsoft.com>
Now, we are again using the following invariant for simplifier_fn::result
The type of in the equality of the result is definitionally equal to the
type of the resultant expression.
Signed-off-by: Leonardo de Moura <leonardo@microsoft.com>
For example, in the hpiext axiom, the resultant equality if for (Type M+1)
axiom hpiext {A A' : TypeM} {B : A -> TypeM} {B' : A' -> TypeM} :
A = A' -> (∀ x x', x == x' -> B x = B' x') -> (∀ x, B x) = (∀ x, B' x)
even if the actual arguments A, A’, B, B’ "live" in a much smaller universe (e.g., Type).
So, it would be great if we could move the resultant equality back to the right universe.
I don't see how to do it right now.
The other solution would require a major rewrite of the code base.
We would have to support universe level arguments like Agda, and write the axiom hpiext as:
axiom hpiext {l : level} {A A' : (Type l)} {B : A -> (Type l)} {B' : A' -> (Type l)} :
A = A' -> (∀ x x', x == x' -> B x = B' x') -> (∀ x, B x) = (∀ x, B' x)
This is the first instance I found where it is really handy to have this feature.
I think this would be a super clean solution, but it would require a big rewrite in the code base.
Another problem is that the actual semantics that Agda has for this kind of construction is not clear to me.
For instance, sometimes Agda reports that the type of an expression is (Set omega).
An easier to implement hack is to support "axiom templates".
We create instances of hipext "on-demand" for different universe levels.
This is essentially what Coq does, since the universe levels are implicit in Coq.
This is not as clean as the Agda approach, but it is much easier to implement.
A super dirty trick is to include some instances of hpiext for commonly used universes
(e.g., Type and (Type 1)).
Signed-off-by: Leonardo de Moura <leonardo@microsoft.com>
