Commit 0bae18c1 authored by Adam Chlipala's avatar Adam Chlipala

Clearer version of sentence on CIC extensions

parent 3afc51bb
...@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ Languages like Haskell and ML have a convenient%\index{principal types}\index{ty ...@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ Languages like Haskell and ML have a convenient%\index{principal types}\index{ty
This is as good a time as any to mention the preponderance of different languages associated with Coq. The theoretical foundation of Coq is a formal system called the%\index{Calculus of Inductive Constructions}\index{CIC|see{Calculus of Inductive Constructions}}% _Calculus of Inductive Constructions_ (CIC)%~\cite{CIC}%, which is an extension of the older%\index{Calculus of Constructions}\index{CoC|see{Calculus of Constructions}}% _Calculus of Constructions_ (CoC)%~\cite{CoC}%. CIC is quite a spartan foundation, which is helpful for proving metatheory but not so helpful for real development. Still, it is nice to know that it has been proved that CIC enjoys properties like%\index{strong normalization}% _strong normalization_ %\cite{CIC}%, meaning that every program (and, more importantly, every proof term) terminates; and%\index{relative consistency}% _relative consistency_ %\cite{SetsInTypes}% with systems like versions of %\index{Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory}%Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory, which roughly means that you can believe that Coq proofs mean that the corresponding propositions are "really true," if you believe in set theory. This is as good a time as any to mention the preponderance of different languages associated with Coq. The theoretical foundation of Coq is a formal system called the%\index{Calculus of Inductive Constructions}\index{CIC|see{Calculus of Inductive Constructions}}% _Calculus of Inductive Constructions_ (CIC)%~\cite{CIC}%, which is an extension of the older%\index{Calculus of Constructions}\index{CoC|see{Calculus of Constructions}}% _Calculus of Constructions_ (CoC)%~\cite{CoC}%. CIC is quite a spartan foundation, which is helpful for proving metatheory but not so helpful for real development. Still, it is nice to know that it has been proved that CIC enjoys properties like%\index{strong normalization}% _strong normalization_ %\cite{CIC}%, meaning that every program (and, more importantly, every proof term) terminates; and%\index{relative consistency}% _relative consistency_ %\cite{SetsInTypes}% with systems like versions of %\index{Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory}%Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory, which roughly means that you can believe that Coq proofs mean that the corresponding propositions are "really true," if you believe in set theory.
Coq is actually based on an extension of CIC called%\index{Gallina}% _Gallina_. The text after the [:=] and before the period in the last code example is a term of Gallina. Gallina adds many useful features that are not compiled internally to more primitive CIC features. The important metatheorems about CIC have not been extended to the full breadth of these features, but most Coq users do not seem to lose much sleep over this omission. Coq is actually based on an extension of CIC called%\index{Gallina}% _Gallina_. The text after the [:=] and before the period in the last code example is a term of Gallina. Gallina includes several useful features that must be considered as extensions to CIC. The important metatheorems about CIC have not been extended to the full breadth of these features, but most Coq users do not seem to lose much sleep over this omission.
Next, there is%\index{Ltac}% _Ltac_, Coq's domain-specific language for writing proofs and decision procedures. We will see some basic examples of Ltac later in this chapter, and much of this book is devoted to more involved Ltac examples. Next, there is%\index{Ltac}% _Ltac_, Coq's domain-specific language for writing proofs and decision procedures. We will see some basic examples of Ltac later in this chapter, and much of this book is devoted to more involved Ltac examples.
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