Commit f741bf9f authored by Adam Chlipala's avatar Adam Chlipala

Explicit note about primitive recursion restriction, early on

parent 33e16865
...@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ Fixpoint expDenote (e : exp) : nat := ...@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ Fixpoint expDenote (e : exp) : nat :=
(** We declare explicitly that this is a recursive definition, using the keyword [Fixpoint]. The rest should be old hat for functional programmers. *) (** We declare explicitly that this is a recursive definition, using the keyword [Fixpoint]. The rest should be old hat for functional programmers. *)
(** It is convenient to be able to test definitions before starting to prove things about them. We can verify that our semantics is sensible by evaluating some sample uses, using the command %\index{Vernacular commands!Eval}%[Eval]. This command takes an argument expressing a %\index{reduction strategy}\emph{%#<i>#reduction strategy#</i>#%}%, or an %``%#"#order of evaluation.#"#%''% Unlike with ML, which hardcodes an %\emph{%#<i>#eager#</i>#%}% reduction strategy, or Haskell, which hardcodes a %\emph{%#<i>#lazy#</i>#%}% strategy, in Coq we are free to choose between these and many other orders of evaluation, because all Coq programs terminate. In fact, Coq silently checked %\index{termination checking}%termination of our [Fixpoint] definition above, using a simple heuristic based on monotonically decreasing size of arguments across recursive calls. (** It is convenient to be able to test definitions before starting to prove things about them. We can verify that our semantics is sensible by evaluating some sample uses, using the command %\index{Vernacular commands!Eval}%[Eval]. This command takes an argument expressing a %\index{reduction strategy}\emph{%#<i>#reduction strategy#</i>#%}%, or an %``%#"#order of evaluation.#"#%''% Unlike with ML, which hardcodes an %\emph{%#<i>#eager#</i>#%}% reduction strategy, or Haskell, which hardcodes a %\emph{%#<i>#lazy#</i>#%}% strategy, in Coq we are free to choose between these and many other orders of evaluation, because all Coq programs terminate. In fact, Coq silently checked %\index{termination checking}%termination of our [Fixpoint] definition above, using a simple heuristic based on monotonically decreasing size of arguments across recursive calls. Specifically, recursive calls must be made on arguments that were pulled out of the original recursive argument with [match] expressions. (In Chapter 7, we will see some ways of getting around this restriction, though simply removing the restriction would leave Coq useless as a theorem proving tool, for reasons we will start to learn about in the next chapter.)
To return to our test evaluations, we run the [Eval] command using the [simpl] evaluation strategy, whose definition is best postponed until we have learned more about Coq's foundations, but which usually gets the job done. *) To return to our test evaluations, we run the [Eval] command using the [simpl] evaluation strategy, whose definition is best postponed until we have learned more about Coq's foundations, but which usually gets the job done. *)
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