(** * Logic: Logic in Coq *) (* Version of 8/24/2010 *) Require Export Ind. (** Like its built-in programming language, Coq's built-in logic is extremely small: universal quantification ([forall]) and implication ([->]) are primitive, but all the other familiar logical connectives -- conjunction, disjunction, negation, existential quantification, even equality -- can be defined using just these together with the [Inductive] definition facility. *) (* ########################################################### *) (** * Quantification and Implication *) (** In fact, [->] and [forall] are the _same_ primitive! *) (** Coq's [->] notation is actually just a shorthand for [forall]. The [forall] notation is more general, because it allows us to _name_ the hypothesis. For example, consider this proposition: *) Definition funny_prop1 := forall n, forall (E : ev n), ev (n+4). (** If we had a proof term inhabiting this proposition, it would be a function with two arguments: a number [n] and some evidence that [n] is even. But the name [E] for this evidence is not used in the rest of the statement of [funny_prop1], so it's a bit silly to bother making up a name. We could write it like this instead: *) Definition funny_prop1' := forall n, forall (_ : ev n), ev (n+4). (** Or we can write it in more familiar notation: *) Definition funny_prop1'' := forall n, ev n -> ev (n+4). (** This illustrates that "[P -> Q]" is just syntactic sugar for "[forall (_:P), Q]". *) (* ########################################################### *) (** * Conjunction *) (** The logical conjunction of propositions [P] and [Q] is represented by the following inductively defined proposition. *) Inductive and (P Q : Prop) : Prop := conj : P -> Q -> (and P Q). (** Note that, like the definition of [ev] in the previous chapter, this definition is parameterized; however, in this case, the parameters are themselves propositions. *) (** The intuition behind this definition is simple: to construct evidence for [and P Q], we must provide evidence for [P] and evidence for [Q]. More precisely: - [conj p q] can be taken as evidence for [and P Q] if [p] is evidence for [P] and [q] is evidence for [Q]; and - this is the _only_ way to give evidence for [and P Q] -- that is, if someone gives us evidence for [and P Q], we know it must have the form [conj p q], where [p] is evidence for [P] and [q] is evidence for [Q]. Since we'll be using conjunction a lot, let's introduce a more familiar-looking infix notation for it. *) Notation "P /\ Q" := (and P Q) : type_scope. (** (The [type_scope] annotation tells Coq that this notation will be appearing in propositions, not values.) *) (** Consider the "type" of the constructor [conj]: *) Check conj. (* ====> forall P Q : Prop, P -> Q -> P /\ Q *) (** Notice that it takes 4 inputs, namely the propositions [P],[Q] and evidence of [P], [Q], and returns as output the evidence of [P /\ Q]. *) (** Besides the elegance of building everything up from a tiny foundation, what's nice about defining conjunction this way is that we can prove statements involving conjunction using the tactics that we already know. For example, if the goal statement is a conjuction, we can prove it by applying the single constructor [conj], which (as can be seen from the type of [conj]) solves the current goal and leaves the two parts of the conjunction as subgoals to be proved separately. *) Theorem and_example : (ev 0) /\ (ev 4). Proof. apply conj. (* Case "left". *) apply ev_0. (* Case "right". *) apply ev_SS. apply ev_SS. apply ev_0. Qed. (** Let's take a look at the proof object for the above theorem. *) Print and_example. (* ====> conj (ev 0) (ev 4) ev_0 (ev_SS 2 (ev_SS 0 ev_0)) : ev 0 /\ ev 4 *) (** Note that the proof is of the form [[ conj (ev 0) (ev 4) (...pf of ev 0...) (...pf of ev 4...) ]] which is what you'd expect, given the type of [conj]. *) (** **** Exercise: 1 star, optional *) (** The [Case] tactics were commented out in the proof of [and_example] to avoid cluttering the proof object. What would you guess the proof object will look like if we uncomment them? Try it and see. *) (** [] *) (** Just for convenience, we can also use [split] as a shorthand for [apply conj]. *) Theorem and_example' : (ev 0) /\ (ev 4). Proof. split. Case "left". apply ev_0. Case "right". apply ev_SS. apply ev_SS. apply ev_0. Qed. (** Conversely, the [inversion] tactic can be used to take a conjunction hypothesis in the context, calculate what evidence must have been used to build it, and put this evidence into the proof context. *) Theorem proj1 : forall P Q : Prop, P /\ Q -> P. Proof. intros P Q H. inversion H as [HP HQ]. apply HP. Qed. (** **** Exercise: 1 star, optional *) Theorem proj2 : forall P Q : Prop, P /\ Q -> Q. Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. (** [] *) Theorem and_commut : forall P Q : Prop, P /\ Q -> Q /\ P. Proof. (* WORKED IN CLASS *) intros P Q H. inversion H as [HP HQ]. split. (* Case "left". *) apply HQ. (* Case "right".*) apply HP. Qed. (** Once again, we have commented out the [Case] tactics to make the proof object for this theorem easy to understand. Examining it shows that all that is really happening taking apart a record containing evidence for [P] and [Q] and rebuilding it in the opposite order: *) (* Print and_commut. *) (* ==> and_commut = fun (P Q : Prop) (H : P /\ Q) => let H0 := match H with | conj HP HQ => conj Q P HQ HP end in H0 : forall P Q : Prop, P /\ Q -> Q /\ P *) (** **** Exercise: 2 stars *) (** In the following proof, notice how the _nested pattern_ in the [inversion] breaks [H : P /\ (Q /\ R)] down into [HP: P], [HQ : Q] and [HR : R]. Finish the proof from there: *) Theorem and_assoc : forall P Q R : Prop, P /\ (Q /\ R) -> (P /\ Q) /\ R. Proof. intros P Q R H. inversion H as [HP [HQ HR]]. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. (** [] *) (** **** Exercise: 2 stars *) (** Now we can prove the other direction of the equivalence of [even] and [ev], which we left hanging in the last chapter. Notice that the left-hand conjunct here is the statement we are actually interested in; the right-hand conjunct is needed in order to make the induction hypothesis strong enough that we can carry out the reasoning in the inductive step. (To see why this is needed, try proving the left conjunct by itself and observe where things get stuck.) *) Theorem even_ev : forall n : nat, (even n -> ev n) /\ (even (S n) -> ev (S n)). Proof. (* Hint: Use induction on [n]. *) (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. (** [] *) (* ###################################################### *) (** ** Iff *) (** The familiar logical "if and only if" is just the conjunction of two implications. *) Definition iff (P Q : Prop) := (P -> Q) /\ (Q -> P). Notation "P <-> Q" := (iff P Q) (at level 95, no associativity) : type_scope. Theorem iff_implies : forall P Q : Prop, (P <-> Q) -> P -> Q. Proof. intros P Q H. inversion H as [HAB HBA]. apply HAB. Qed. Theorem iff_sym : forall P Q : Prop, (P <-> Q) -> (Q <-> P). Proof. (* WORKED IN CLASS *) intros P Q H. inversion H as [HAB HBA]. split. Case "->". apply HBA. Case "<-". apply HAB. Qed. (** **** Exercise: 1 star (iff_properties) *) (** Using the above proof that [<->] is symmetric ([iff_sym]) as a guide, prove that it is also reflexive and transitive. *) Theorem iff_refl : forall P : Prop, P <-> P. Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. (** Hint: If you have an iff hypothesis in the context, you can use [inversion] to break it into two separate implications. (Think about why this works.) *) Theorem iff_trans : forall P Q R : Prop, (P <-> Q) -> (Q <-> R) -> (P <-> R). Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. (** [] *) (** **** Exercise: 2 stars *) (** We have seen that the families of propositions [MyProp] and [ev] actually characterize the same set of numbers (the even ones). Prove that [MyProp n <-> ev n] for all [n]. Just for fun, write your proof as an explicit proof object, rather than using tactics. (_Hint_: if you make use of previously defined thoerems, you should only need a single line!) *) Definition MyProp_iff_ev : forall n, MyProp n <-> ev n := (* FILL IN HERE *) admit. (** [] *) (** In traditional Coq, propositions phrased with [<->] were a bit inconvenient to use as hypotheses or lemmas, because they had to be deconstructed into their two directed components in order to be applied. Starting in Coq 8.2, using [apply] with an iff proposition appears to do an implicit [inversion] first, so does the right thing if _either_ direction is relevant. Unfortunately, this feature still seems to be a bit fragile, and it isn't properly documented. In the rest of the book, we'll just avoid using [iff] very much. *) (* ############################################################ *) (** * Disjunction *) (** Disjunction ("logical or") can also be defined as an inductive proposition. *) Inductive or (P Q : Prop) : Prop := | or_introl : P -> or P Q | or_intror : Q -> or P Q. Notation "P \/ Q" := (or P Q) : type_scope. (** Consider the "type" of the constructor [or_introl]: *) Check or_introl. (* ===> forall P Q : Prop, P -> P \/ Q *) (** It takes 3 inputs, namely the propositions [P],[Q] and evidence of [P], and returns as output, the evidence of [P /\ Q]. Next, look at the type of [or_intror]: *) Check or_intror. (* ===> forall P Q : Prop, Q -> P \/ Q *) (** It is like [or_introl] but it requires evidence of [Q] instead of evidence of [P]. *) (** Intuitively, there are two ways of giving evidence for [P \/ Q]: - give evidence for [P] (and say that it is [P] you are giving evidence for! -- this is the function of the [or_introl] constructor), or - give evidence for [Q], tagged with the [or_intror] constructor. Since [P \/ Q] has two constructors, doing [inversion] on a hypothesis of type [P \/ Q] yields two subgoals. *) Theorem or_commut : forall P Q : Prop, P \/ Q -> Q \/ P. Proof. intros P Q H. inversion H as [HP | HQ]. Case "right". apply or_intror. apply HP. Case "left". apply or_introl. apply HQ. Qed. (** From here on, we'll use the shorthand tactics [left] and [right] in place of [apply or_introl] and [apply or_intror]. *) Theorem or_commut' : forall P Q : Prop, P \/ Q -> Q \/ P. Proof. intros P Q H. inversion H as [HP | HQ]. Case "right". right. apply HP. Case "left". left. apply HQ. Qed. (** **** Exercise: 2 stars, optional *) (* Try to write down an explicit proof object for [or_commut] (without using [Print] to look at the existing definitions). *) (* FILL IN HERE *) Theorem or_distributes_over_and_1 : forall P Q R : Prop, P \/ (Q /\ R) -> (P \/ Q) /\ (P \/ R). Proof. intros P Q R. intros H. inversion H as [HP | [HQ HR]]. Case "left". split. SCase "left". left. apply HP. SCase "right". left. apply HP. Case "right". split. SCase "left". right. apply HQ. SCase "right". right. apply HR. Qed. (** **** Exercise: 2 stars *) Theorem or_distributes_over_and_2 : forall P Q R : Prop, (P \/ Q) /\ (P \/ R) -> P \/ (Q /\ R). Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. (** [] *) (** **** Exercise: 1 star *) Theorem or_distributes_over_and : forall P Q R : Prop, P \/ (Q /\ R) <-> (P \/ Q) /\ (P \/ R). Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. (** [] *) (* ################################################### *) (** ** Digression: Induction Principles for [/\] and [\/] *) (** The induction principles for conjunction and disjunction are a good illustration of Coq's way of generating simplified induction principles for [Inductive]ly defined propositions, which we discussed in the last chapter. You try first: *) (** **** Exercise: 1 star (and_ind_principle) *) (** See if you can predict the induction principle for conjunction. *) (* Check and_ind. *) (** [] *) (** **** Exercise: 1 star (or_ind_principle) *) (** See if you can predict the induction principle for disjunction. *) (* Check or_ind. *) (** [] *) Check and_ind. (** From the inductive definition of the proposition [and P Q] [[ Inductive and (P Q : Prop) : Prop := conj : P -> Q -> (and P Q). ]] we might expect Coq to generate this induction principle [[ and_ind_max : forall (P Q : Prop) (P0 : P /\ Q -> Prop), (forall (a : P) (b : Q), P0 (conj P Q a b)) -> forall a : P /\ Q, P0 a ]] but actually it generates this simpler and more useful one: [[ and_ind : forall P Q P0 : Prop, (P -> Q -> P0) -> P /\ Q -> P0 ]] In the same way, when given the inductive definition of [or P Q] [[ Inductive or (P Q : Prop) : Prop := | or_introl : P -> or P Q | or_intror : Q -> or P Q. ]] instead of the "maximal induction principle" [[ or_ind_max : forall (P Q : Prop) (P0 : P \/ Q -> Prop), (forall a : P, P0 (or_introl P Q a)) -> (forall b : Q, P0 (or_intror P Q b)) -> forall o : P \/ Q, P0 o ]] what Coq actually generates is this: [[ or_ind : forall P Q P0 : Prop, (P -> P0) -> (Q -> P0) -> P \/ Q -> P0 ]] *) (* ################################################### *) (** ** Relating /\ and \/ with andb and orb *) (** We've already seen several places where analogous structures can be found in Coq's computational ([Type]) and logical ([Prop]) worlds. Here is one more: the boolean operators [andb] and [orb] are obviously analogs, in some sense, of the logical connectives [/\] and [\/]. This analogy can be made more precise by the following theorems, which show how to translate knowledge about [andb] and [orb]'s behaviors on certain inputs into propositional facts about those inputs. *) Theorem andb_true__and : forall b c, andb b c = true -> b = true /\ c = true. Proof. (* WORKED IN CLASS *) intros b c H. destruct b. Case "b = true". destruct c. SCase "c = true". apply conj. reflexivity. reflexivity. SCase "c = false". inversion H. Case "b = false". inversion H. Qed. Theorem and__andb_true : forall b c, b = true /\ c = true -> andb b c = true. Proof. (* WORKED IN CLASS *) intros b c H. inversion H. rewrite H0. rewrite H1. reflexivity. Qed. (** **** Exercise: 1 star (bool_prop) *) Theorem andb_false : forall b c, andb b c = false -> b = false \/ c = false. Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. Theorem orb_true : forall b c, orb b c = true -> b = true \/ c = true. Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. Theorem orb_false : forall b c, orb b c = false -> b = false /\ c = false. Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. (** [] *) (* ################################################### *) (** * Falsehood *) (** Logical falsehood can be represented in Coq as an inductively defined proposition with no constructors. *) Inductive False : Prop := . (** Intuition: [False] is a proposition for which there is no way to give evidence. *) (** **** Exercise: 1 star (False_ind_principle) *) (** Can you predict the induction principle for falsehood? *) (* Check False_ind. *) (** [] *) (** Since [False] has no constructors, inverting an assumption of type [False] always yields zero subgoals, allowing us to immediately prove any goal. *) Theorem False_implies_nonsense : False -> 2 + 2 = 5. Proof. intros contra. inversion contra. Qed. (** How does this work? The [inversion] tactic breaks [contra] into each of its possible cases, and yields a subgoal for each case. As [contra] is evidence for [False], it has _no_ possible cases, hence, there are no possible subgoals and the proof is done. *) (** Conversely, the only way to prove [False] is if there is already something nonsensical or contradictory in the context: *) Theorem nonsense_implies_False : 2 + 2 = 5 -> False. Proof. intros contra. inversion contra. Qed. (** Actually, since the proof of [False_implies_nonsense] doesn't actually have anything to do with the specific nonsensical thing being proved; it can easily be generalized to work for an arbitrary [P]: *) Theorem ex_falso_quodlibet : forall (P:Prop), False -> P. Proof. intros P contra. inversion contra. Qed. (** The Latin _ex falso quodlibet_ means, literally, "from falsehood follows whatever you please." This theorem is also known as the _principle of explosion_. *) (* #################################################### *) (** ** Truth *) (** Since we have defined falsehood in Coq, we might wonder whether it is possible to define truth in the same way. Naturally, the answer is yes. *) (** **** Exercise: 2 stars *) (** Define [True] as another inductively defined proposition. What induction principle will Coq generate for your definition? (The intution is that [True] should be a proposition for which it is trivial to give evidence. Alternatively, you may find it easiest to start with the induction principle and work backwards to the inductive definition.) *) (* FILL IN HERE *) (** [] *) (** However, unlike [False], which we'll use extensively, [True] is just a theoretical curiosity: it is trivial (and therefore uninteresting) to prove as a goal, and it carries no useful information as a hypothesis. *) (* #################################################### *) (** * Negation *) (** The logical complement of a proposition [P] is written [not P] or, for shorthand, [~P]: *) Definition not (P:Prop) := P -> False. Notation "~ x" := (not x) : type_scope. Check not. (* ====> Prop -> Prop *) (** The intuition is that, if [P] is not true, then anything at all (even [False]) should follow from assuming [P]. *) (** It takes a little practice to get used to working with negation in Coq. Even though you can see perfectly well why something is true, it can be a little hard at first to get things into the right configuration so that Coq can see it! Here are proofs of a few familiar facts about negation to get you warmed up. *) Theorem not_False : ~ False. Proof. unfold not. intros H. inversion H. Qed. Theorem contradiction_implies_anything : forall P Q : Prop, (P /\ ~P) -> Q. Proof. (* WORKED IN CLASS *) intros P Q H. inversion H as [HP HNA]. unfold not in HNA. apply HNA in HP. inversion HP. Qed. Theorem double_neg : forall P : Prop, P -> ~~P. Proof. (* WORKED IN CLASS *) intros P H. unfold not. intros G. apply G. apply H. Qed. (** **** Exercise: 2 stars (double_neg_inf) *) (** Write an informal proof of [double_neg]: _Theorem_: [P] implies [~~P], for any proposition [P]. _Proof_: (* FILL IN HERE *) [] *) (** **** Exercise: 2 stars *) Theorem contrapositive : forall P Q : Prop, (P -> Q) -> (~Q -> ~P). Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. (** [] *) (** **** Exercise: 1 star *) Theorem not_both_true_and_false : forall P : Prop, ~ (P /\ ~P). Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. (** [] *) Theorem five_not_even : ~ ev 5. Proof. (* WORKED IN CLASS *) unfold not. intros Hev5. inversion Hev5 as [|n Hev3 Heqn]. inversion Hev3 as [|n' Hev1 Heqn']. inversion Hev1. Qed. (** **** Exercise: 1 star *) (** Theorem [five_not_even] confirms the unsurprising fact that five is not an even number. Prove this more interesting fact: *) Theorem ev_not_ev_S : forall n, ev n -> ~ ev (S n). Proof. unfold not. intros n H. induction H. (* not n! *) (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. (** [] *) (** **** Exercise: 1 star, optional (informal_not_PNP) *) (** Write an informal proof (in English) of the proposition [forall P : Prop, ~(P /\ ~P)]. *) (* FILL IN HERE *) (** [] *) (** Note that some theorems that are true in classical logic are _not_ provable in Coq's "built in" constructive logic... *) Theorem classic_double_neg : forall P : Prop, ~~P -> P. Proof. (* WORKED IN CLASS *) intros P H. unfold not in H. (* But now what? There is no way to "invent" evidence for [P]. *) Admitted. (** **** Exercise: 5 stars, optional (classical_axioms) *) (** For those who like a challenge, here is an exercise taken from the Coq'Art book (p. 123). The following five statements are often considered as characterizations of classical logic (as opposed to constructive logic, which is what is "built in" to Coq). We can't prove them in Coq, but we can consistently add any one of them as an unproven axiom if we wish to work in classical logic. Prove that these five propositions are equivalent. *) Definition peirce := forall P Q: Prop, ((P->Q)->P)->P. Definition classic := forall P:Prop, ~~P -> P. Definition excluded_middle := forall P:Prop, P \/ ~P. Definition de_morgan_not_and_not := forall P Q:Prop, ~(~P/\~Q) -> P\/Q. Definition implies_to_or := forall P Q:Prop, (P->Q) -> (~P\/Q). (* FILL IN HERE *) (** [] *) (* ########################################################## *) (** ** Inequality *) (** Saying [x <> y] is just the same as saying [~(x = y)]. *) Notation "x <> y" := (~ (x = y)) : type_scope. (** Since inequality involves a negation, it again requires a little practice to be able to work with it fluently. Here is one very useful trick. If you are trying to prove a goal that is nonsensical (e.g., the goal state is [false = true]), apply the lemma [ex_falso_quodlibet] to change the goal to [False]. This makes it easier to use assumptions of the form [~P] that are available in the context -- in particular, assumptions of the form [x<>y]. *) Theorem not_false_then_true : forall b : bool, b <> false -> b = true. Proof. intros b H. destruct b. Case "b = true". reflexivity. Case "b = false". unfold not in H. apply ex_falso_quodlibet. apply H. reflexivity. Qed. (** **** Exercise: 2 stars *) Theorem not_eq_beq_false : forall n n' : nat, n <> n' -> beq_nat n n' = false. Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. (** [] *) (** **** Exercise: 2 stars, optional *) Theorem beq_false_not_eq : forall n m, false = beq_nat n m -> n <> m. Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. (** [] *) (* ############################################################ *) (** * Existential Quantification *) (** Another critical logical connective is _existential quantification_. We can capture what this means with the following definition: *) Inductive ex (X:Type) (P : X->Prop) : Prop := ex_intro : forall (witness:X), P witness -> ex X P. (** That is, [ex] is a family of propositions indexed by a type [X] and a property [P] over [X]. In order to give evidence for the assertion "there exists an [x] for which the property [P] holds" we must actually name a _witness_ -- a specific value [x] -- and then give evidence for [P x], i.e., evidence that [x] has the property [P]. For example, consider this existentially quantified proposition: *) Definition some_nat_is_even : Prop := ex nat ev. (** To prove this proposition, we need to choose a particular number as witness -- say, 4 -- and give some evidence that that number is even. *) Definition snie : some_nat_is_even := ex_intro _ ev 4 (ev_SS 2 (ev_SS 0 ev_0)). (** Here's the induction principle that Coq generates: *) Check ex_ind. (* ===> forall (X:Type) (P: X->Prop) (Q: Prop), (forall witness:X, P witness -> Q) -> ex X P -> Q *) (** This induction principle can be understood as follows: If we have a function [f] that can construct evidence for [Q] given _any_ witness of type [X] together with evidence that this witness has property [P], then from a proof of [ex X P] we can extract the witness and evidence that must have been supplied to the constructor, give these to [f], and thus obtain a proof of [Q]. *) (** Next, Coq's notation definition facility can be used to introduce more familiar notation for writing existentially quantified propositions, exactly parallel to the built-in syntax for universally quantified propositions. Instead of writing [ex nat ev] to express the proposition that there exists some number that is even, for example, we can write [exists x:nat, ev x]. (It is not necessary to understand the details of how the [Notation] definition works!) *) Notation "'exists' x , p" := (ex _ (fun x => p)) (at level 200, x ident, right associativity) : type_scope. Notation "'exists' x : X , p" := (ex _ (fun x:X => p)) (at level 200, x ident, right associativity) : type_scope. (** We can use the same set of tactics as always for manipulating existentials. For example, if to prove an existential, we [apply] the constructor [ex_intro]. Since the premise of [ex_intro] involves a variable ([witness]) that does not appear in its conclusion, we need to explicitly give its value when we use [apply]. *) Example exists_example_1 : exists n, n + (n * n) = 6. Proof. apply ex_intro with (witness:=2). reflexivity. Qed. (** Note, again, that we have to explicitly give the witness. *) (** Or, instead of writing [apply ex_intro with (witness:=e)] all the time, we can use the convenient shorthand [exists e], which means the same thing. *) Example exists_example_1' : exists n, n + (n * n) = 6. Proof. exists 2. reflexivity. Qed. (** Conversely, if we have an existential hypothesis in the context, we can eliminate it with [inversion]. Note the use of the [as...] pattern to name the variable that Coq introduces to name the witness value and get evidence that the hypothesis holds for the witness. (If we don't explicitly choose one, Coq will just call it [witness], which makes proofs confusing.) *) Theorem exists_example_2 : forall n, (exists m, n = 4 + m) -> (exists o, n = 2 + o). Proof. intros n H. inversion H as [m Hm]. exists (2 + m). apply Hm. Qed. (** **** Exercise: 1 star *) (** In English, what does the proposition [[ ex nat (fun n => ev (S n)) ]] mean? *) (* FILL IN HERE *) (** Complete the definition of the following proof object: *) Definition p : ex nat (fun n => ev (S n)) := (* FILL IN HERE *) admit. (** [] *) (** **** Exercise: 1 star *) (** Prove that "[P] holds for all [x]" and "there is no [x] for which [P] does not hold" are equivalent assertions. *) Theorem dist_not_exists : forall (X:Type) (P : X -> Prop), (forall x, P x) -> ~ (exists x, ~ P x). Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. (** [] *) (** **** Exercise: 3 stars, optional *) (** The other direction requires the classical "law of the excluded middle": *) Theorem not_exists_dist : excluded_middle -> forall (X:Type) (P : X -> Prop), ~ (exists x, ~ P x) -> (forall x, P x). Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. (** [] *) (** **** Exercise: 2 stars *) (** Prove that existential quantification distributes over disjunction. *) Theorem dist_exists_or : forall (X:Type) (P Q : X -> Prop), (exists x, P x \/ Q x) <-> (exists x, P x) \/ (exists x, Q x). Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. (** [] *) (* ###################################################### *) (** * Equality *) (** Even Coq's equality relation is not built in. It has the following inductive definition. (We enclose the definition in a module to avoid confusion with the standard library equality, which we have used extensively already). *) Module MyEquality. Inductive eq (X:Type) : X -> X -> Prop := refl_equal : forall x, eq X x x. Notation "x = y" := (eq _ x y) (at level 70, no associativity) : type_scope. (** This is a bit subtle. The way to think about it is that, given a set [X], it defines a _family_ of propositions "[x] is equal to [y]," indexed by pairs of values ([x] and [y]) from [X]. There is just one way of constructing evidence for members of this family: with the constructor [refl_equal]. *) (** Now we are down to the bedrock: The primitive feature of Coq that makes this definition work is the ability to make an [Inductive] declaration with a constructor whose type only permits it to be applied to three arguments where the second and third are the same. (Strictly speaking, "the same _modulo simplification_.") *) (** Here is an alternate definition -- the one that actually appears in the Coq standard library. *) Inductive eq' (X:Type) (x:X) : X -> Prop := refl_equal' : eq' X x x. Notation "x =' y" := (eq' _ x y) (at level 70, no associativity) : type_scope. (** **** Exercise: 3 stars, optional *) (** Verify that the two definitions of equality are equivalent. *) Theorem two_defs_of_eq_coincide : forall (X:Type) x y, eq X x y <-> eq' X x y. Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. (** [] *) (** The advantage of the second definition is that the induction principle that Coq derives for it is precisely the familiar principle of _Leibniz equality_: what we mean when we say "[x] and [y] are equal" is that every property on [P] that is true of [x] is also true of [y]. *) Check eq'_ind. (* ====> forall (X : Type) (x : X) (P : X -> Prop), P x -> forall y : X, x =' y -> P y *) (** One important consideration remains: what does it actually mean to say that the arguments to [refl_equal] must be "the same" ? Certainly, it is _sufficient_ if they are syntactically identical. But in fact, Coq is much more liberal: it treats as "the same" any two terms that are _convertible_ according to a simple set of computation rules. These rules, which are very similar to those used by [Eval simpl], include evaluation of function application, inlining of definitions, and simplification of [match]es. In tactic-based proofs of equality, the conversion rules are normally hidden in uses of [simpl] (either explicit or implicit in [reflexivity]). But you can see them directly at work in the following explicit proof objects: *) Definition four : 2 + 2 = 1 + 3 := refl_equal nat 4. Definition singleton : forall (X:Set) (x:X), []++[x] = x::[] := fun (X:Set) (x:X) => refl_equal (list X) [x]. End MyEquality. (* ####################################################### *) (** ** Inversion, Again *) (** We've seen [inversion] used with both equality hypotheses and hypotheses asserting inductively defined propositions. Now that we've seen that these are actually the same thing, let's take a closer look at how [inversion] behaves... In general, the [inversion] tactic - takes a hypothesis [H] whose type is some inductively defined proposition [P] - for each constructor [C] in [P]'s definition - generates a new subgoal in which we assume [H] was built with [C] - adds the arguments (premises) of [C] to the context of the subgoal as extra hypotheses - matches the conclusion (result type) of [C] against the current goal and calculates a set of equalities that must hold in order for [C] to be applicable - adds these equalities to the context of the subgoal - if the equalities are not satisfiable (e.g., they involve things like [S n = O], immediately solves the subgoal. _Example_: If we invert a hypothesis built with [or], there are two constructors, so two subgoals get generated. The conclusion (result type) of the constructor ([P \/ Q]) doesn't place any restrictions on the form of [P] or [Q], so we don't get any extra equalities in the context of the subgoal. _Example_: If we invert a hypothesis built with [and], there is only one constructor, so only one subgoal gets generated. Again, the conclusion (result type) of the constructor ([P /\ Q]) doesn't place any restrictions on the form of [P] or [Q], so we don't get any extra equalities in the context of the subgoal. The constructor does have two arguments, though, and these can be seen in the context in the subgoal. _Example_: If we invert a hypothesis built with [eq], there is again only one constructor, so only one subgoal gets generated. Now, though, the form of the [refl_equal] constructor does give us some extra information: it tells us that the two arguments to [eq] must be equal! The [inversion] tactic adds this to the context. *) (* ####################################################### *) (** * Relations as Propositions *) (** A proposition parameterized over a number (like [ev]) can be thought of as a _property_ -- i.e., it defines a subset of [nat], namely those numbers for which the proposition is provable. In the same way, a two-argument proposition can be thought of as a _relation_ -- i.e., it defines a set of pairs for which the proposition is provable. In the next few sections, we explore the consequences of this observation. *) Module LeFirstTry. (** We've already seen an inductive definition of one fundamental relation: equality. Another useful one is the "less than or equal to" relation on numbers: *) (** This definition should be fairly intuitive. It says that there are two ways to give evidence that one number is less than or equal to another: either observe that they are the same number, or give evidence that the first is less than or equal to the predecessor of the second. *) Inductive le : nat -> nat -> Prop := | le_n : forall n, le n n | le_S : forall n m, (le n m) -> (le n (S m)). Check le_ind. (* ===> forall P : nat -> nat -> Prop, (forall n : nat, P n n) -> (forall n m : nat, le n m -> P n m -> P n (S m)) -> forall n n0 : nat, le n n0 -> P n n0 *) End LeFirstTry. (** This is a fine definition of the [<=] relation, but we can streamline it a little by observing that the left-hand argument [n] is the same everywhere in the definition, so we can actually make it a "general parameter" to the whole definition, rather than an argument to each constructor. (This is similar to what we did in our second definition of the [eq] relation, above.) *) Inductive le (n:nat) : nat -> Prop := | le_n : le n n | le_S : forall m, (le n m) -> (le n (S m)). Notation "m <= n" := (le m n). (** The second one is better, even though it looks less symmetric. Why? Because it gives us a simpler induction principle. (The same was true of our second version of [eq].) *) Check le_ind. (* ====> forall (n : nat) (P : nat -> Prop), P n -> (forall m : nat, n <= m -> P m -> P (S m)) -> forall n0 : nat, n <= n0 -> P n0 *) (** By contrast, the induction principle that Coq calculates for the first definition has a lot of extra quantifiers, which makes it messier to work with when proving things by induction. Here is the induction principle for the first [le]: *) (* Check le_ind. (the first one above) *) (* ===> le_ind : forall P : nat -> nat -> Prop, (forall n : nat, P n n) -> (forall n m : nat, LeFirstTry.le n m -> P n m -> P n (S m)) -> forall n n0 : nat, LeFirstTry.le n n0 -> P n n0 *) (** Proofs of facts about [<=] using the constructors [le_n] and [le_S] follow the same patterns as proofs about properties, like [ev] in the previous chapter. We can [apply] the constructors to prove [<=] goals (e.g., to show that [3<=3] or [3<=6]), and we can use tactics like [inversion] to extract information from [<=] hypotheses in the context (e.g., to prove that [~(2 <= 1)].) *) (** Here are some sanity checks on the definition. (Notice that, although these are the same kind of simple "unit tests" as we gave for the testing functions we wrote in the first few lectures, we must construct their proofs explicitly -- [simpl] and [reflexivity] don't do the job, because the proofs aren't just a matter of simplifying computations. *) Theorem test_le1 : 3 <= 3. Proof. (* WORKED IN CLASS *) apply le_n. Qed. Theorem test_le2 : 3 <= 6. Proof. (* WORKED IN CLASS *) apply le_S. apply le_S. apply le_S. apply le_n. Qed. Theorem test_le3 : ~ (2 <= 1). Proof. (* WORKED IN CLASS *) intros H. inversion H. inversion H1. Qed. (** The "strictly less than" relation [n < m] can now be defined in terms of [le]. *) Definition lt (n m:nat) := le (S n) m. Notation "m < n" := (lt m n). (** A few more simple relations on numbers *) Inductive square_of : nat -> nat -> Prop := sq : forall n:nat, square_of n (n * n). Inductive next_nat (n:nat) : nat -> Prop := | nn : next_nat n (S n). Inductive next_even (n:nat) : nat -> Prop := | ne_1 : ev (S n) -> next_even n (S n) | ne_2 : ev (S (S n)) -> next_even n (S (S n)). (** **** Exercise: 2 stars *) (** Define an inductive relation [total_relation] that holds between every pair of natural numbers. *) (* FILL IN HERE *) (** [] *) (** **** Exercise: 2 stars *) (** Define an inductive relation [empty_relation] (on numbers) that never holds. *) (* FILL IN HERE *) (** [] *) (** **** Exercise: 3 stars (R_provability) *) Module R. (** We can define three-place relations, four-place relations, etc., in just the same way as binary relations. For example, consider the following three-place relation on numbers: *) Inductive R : nat -> nat -> nat -> Prop := | c1 : R 0 0 0 | c2 : forall m n o, R m n o -> R (S m) n (S o) | c3 : forall m n o, R m n o -> R m (S n) (S o) | c4 : forall m n o, R (S m) (S n) (S (S o)) -> R m n o | c5 : forall m n o, R m n o -> R n m o. (** - Which of the following propositions are provable? - [R 1 1 2] - [R 2 2 6] - If we dropped constructor [c5] from the definition of [R], would the set of provable propositions change? Briefly (1 sentence) explain your answer. - If we dropped constructor [c4] from the definition of [R], would the set of provable propositions change? Briefly (1 sentence) explain your answer. (* FILL IN HERE *) [] *) (** **** Exercise: 3 stars, optional (R_fact) *) (** State and prove an equivalent characterization of the relation [R]. That is, if [R m n o] is true, what can we say about [m], [n], and [o], and vice versa? *) (* FILL IN HERE *) (** [] *) End R. (** **** Exercise: 4 stars (filter_challenge) *) (** One of the main purposes of Coq is to prove that programs match their specifications. To this end, let's prove that our definition of [filter] matches a specification. Here is the specification, written out informally in English. Suppose we have a set [X], a function [test: X->bool], and a list [l] of type [list X]. Suppose further that [l] is an "in-order merge" of two lists, [l1] and [l2], such that every item in [l1] satisfies [test] and no item in [l2] satisfies test. Then [filter test l = l1]. A list [l] is an "in-order merge" of [l1] and [l2] if it contains all the same elements as [l1] and [l2], in the same order as [l1] and [l2], but possibly interleaved. For example, [[ [1,4,6,2,3] ]] is an in-order merge of [[ [1,6,2] ]] and [[ [4,3]. ]] Your job is to translate this specification into a Coq theorem and prove it. (Hint: You'll need to begin by defining what it means for one list to be a merge of two others. Do this with an inductive relation, not a [Fixpoint].) *) (* FILL IN HERE *) (** [] *) (** **** Exercise: 4 stars, optional (no_repeats) *) (** The following inductively defined proposition... *) Inductive appears_in {X:Type} (a:X) : list X -> Prop := | ai_here : forall l, appears_in a (a::l) | ai_later : forall b l, appears_in a l -> appears_in a (b::l). (** ...gives us a precise way of saying that a value [a] appears at least once as a member of a list [l]. Here's a pair of warm-ups about [appears_in]. *) Lemma appears_in_app : forall {X:Type} (xs ys : list X) (x:X), appears_in x (xs ++ ys) -> appears_in x xs \/ appears_in x ys. Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. (** [] *) Lemma app_appears_in : forall {X:Type} (xs ys : list X) (x:X), appears_in x xs \/ appears_in x ys -> appears_in x (xs ++ ys). Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. (** [] *) (** Now use [appears_in] to define a proposition [disjoint X l1 l2], which should be provable exactly when [l1] and [l2] are lists (with elements of type X) that have no elements in common. *) (* FILL IN HERE *) (** [] *) (** Next, use [appears_in] to define an inductive proposition [no_repeats X l], which should be provable exactly when [l] is a list (with elements of type [X]) where every member is different from every other. For example, [no_repeats nat [1,2,3,4]] and [no_repeats bool []] should be provable, while [no_repeats nat [1,2,1]] and [no_repeats bool [true,true]] should not be. *) (* FILL IN HERE *) (** [] *) (** Finally, state and prove one or more interesting theorems relating [disjoint], [no_repeats] and [++] (list append). *) (* FILL IN HERE *) (** **** Exercise: 3 stars (all_forallb) *) (** Inductively define a property [all] of lists, parameterized by a type [X] and a property [P : X -> Prop], such that [all X P l] asserts that [P] is true for every element of the list [l]. *) Inductive all (X : Type) (P : X -> Prop) : list X -> Prop := (* FILL IN HERE *) . (** Recall the function [forallb], from the exercise [forall_exists_challenge] in Poly.v: *) Fixpoint forallb {X : Type} (test : X -> bool) (l : list X) : bool := match l with | [] => true | x :: l' => andb (test x) (forallb test l') end. (** Using the property [all], write down a specification for [forallb], and prove that it satisfies the specification. Try to make your specification as precise as possible. Are there any important properties of the function [forallb] which are not captured by your specification? *) (* FILL IN HERE *) (** [] *) (* ######################################################### *) (** ** Digression: More Facts about [<=] and [<] *) (** Let's pause briefly to record several facts about the [<=] and [<] relations that we are going to need later in the course. The proofs make good practice exercises. *) (** **** Exercise: 2 stars, optional (le_exercises) *) Theorem O_le_n : forall n, 0 <= n. Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. Theorem n_le_m__Sn_le_Sm : forall n m, n <= m -> S n <= S m. Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. Theorem Sn_le_Sm__n_le_m : forall n m, S n <= S m -> n <= m. Proof. intros n m. generalize dependent n. induction m. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. Theorem le_plus_l : forall a b, a <= a + b. Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. Theorem plus_lt : forall n1 n2 m, n1 + n2 < m -> n1 < m /\ n2 < m. Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. Theorem lt_S : forall n m, n < m -> n < S m. Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. Theorem ble_nat_true : forall n m, ble_nat n m = true -> n <= m. Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. Theorem ble_nat_n_Sn_false : forall n m, ble_nat n (S m) = false -> ble_nat n m = false. Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. Theorem ble_nat_false : forall n m, ble_nat n m = false -> ~(n <= m). Proof. (* Hint: Do the right induction! *) (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. (** [] *) (** **** Exercise: 3 stars (nostutter) *) (* Formulating inductive definitions of predicates is an important skill you'll need in this course. Try to solve this exercise without any help at all. If you do receive assistance from anyone, please say so specifically in a comment. We say that a list of numbers "stutters" if it repeats the same number consecutively. The predicate "nostutter(mylist)" means that mylist does not stutter. Formulate an inductive definition for [nostutter]. This is different from [no_repeats]; the sequence [1,4,1] repeats but does not stutter. *) Inductive nostutter: list nat -> Prop := (* FILL IN HERE *) . (* Make sure each of these tests succeeds, but you are free to change the proof if the given one doesn't work for you. Your definition might be different from mine and still correct, in which case the examples might need a different proof. Also, the proofs use tactics you haven't seen yet; if you are uncomfortable using them, you can prove each example with more basic tactics. *) Example test_nostutter_1: nostutter [3,1,4,1,5,6]. (* Proof. repeat constructor; apply beq_false_not_eq; auto. Qed. *) (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. Example test_nostutter_2: nostutter []. (* Proof. repeat constructor; apply beq_false_not_eq; auto. Qed. *) (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. Example test_nostutter_3: nostutter [5]. (* Proof. repeat constructor; apply beq_false_not_eq; auto. Qed. *) (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. Example test_nostutter_4: not (nostutter [3,1,1,4]). (* Proof. intro. repeat match goal with h: nostutter _ |- _ => inversion h; clear h; subst end. contradiction H1; auto. Qed. *) (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. (* [] *) (** **** Exercise: 4 stars, optional (pigeonhole principle) *) (** The "pigeonhole principle" states a basic fact about counting: if you distribute more than [n] items into [n] pigeonholes, some pigeonhole must contain at least two items. As is often the case, this apparently trivial fact about numbers requires non-trivial machinery to prove, but we now have enough... *) (** First a pair of useful lemmas... *) (** We already proved this for lists of naturals, but not for arbitrary lists. *) Lemma app_length : forall {X:Type} (l1 l2 : list X), length (l1 ++ l2) = length l1 + length l2. Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. Lemma appears_in_app_split : forall {X:Type} (x:X) (l:list X), appears_in x l -> exists l1, exists l2, l = l1 ++ (x::l2). Proof. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. (** Now define a predicate [repeats], analogous to the [no_repeats], such that [repeats X l] asserts that [l] contains at least one repeated element (of type [X]). *) Inductive repeats {X:Type} : list X -> Prop := (* FILL IN HERE *) . (** Now here's a way to formalize the pigeonhole principle. List [l2] represents a list of pigeonhole labels, and list [l1] represents an assignment of items to labels: if there are more items than labels, at least two items must have the same label. You will almost certainly need to use the [excluded_middle] hypothesis. *) Theorem pigeonhole_principle: forall {X:Type} (l1 l2:list X), excluded_middle -> (forall x, appears_in x l1 -> appears_in x l2) -> length l2 < length l1 -> repeats l1. Proof. intros X l1. induction l1. (* FILL IN HERE *) Admitted. (* ####################################################### *) (** * Informal Proofs, Again *) (** Q: What is the relation between a formal proof of a proposition [P] and an informal proof of the same proposition [P]? A: The latter should _teach_ the reader how to produce the former. Q: How much detail is needed? A: There is no single right answer; rather, there is a range of choices. At one end of the spectrum, we can essentially give the reader the whole formal proof (i.e., the informal proof amounts to just transcribing the formal one into words). This gives the reader the _ability_ to reproduce the formal one for themselves, but it doesn't _teach_ them anything. At the other end of the spectrum, we can say "The theorem is true and you can figure out why for yourself if you think about it hard enough." This is also not a good teaching strategy, because usually writing the proof requires some deep insights into the thing we're proving, and most readers will give up before they rediscover all the same insights as we did. In the middle is the golden mean -- a proof that includes all of the essential insights (saving the reader the hard part of work that we went through to find the proof in the first place) and clear high-level suggestions for the more routine parts to save the reader from spending too much time reconstructing these parts (e.g., what the IH says and what must be shown in each case of an inductive proof), but not so much detail that the main ideas are obscured. Another key point: if we're talking about a formal proof of a proposition P and an informal proof of P, the proposition P doesn't change. That is, formal and informal proofs are _talking about the same world_ and they must _play by the same rules_. *) (* ######################################################### *) (** * Explicit Proof Objects for Induction. *) (** (This section is optional.) *) (** Although tactic-based proofs are normally much easier to work with, the ability to write a proof term directly is sometimes very handy, particularly when we want Coq to do something slightly non-standard. *) (** Recall the induction principle on naturals that Coq generates for us automatically from the Inductive declation for [nat]. *) (* Check nat_ind. *) (* ===> nat_ind : forall P : nat -> Prop, P 0%nat -> (forall n : nat, P n -> P (S n)) -> forall n : nat, P n *) (** There's nothing magic about this induction lemma: it's just another Coq lemma that requires a proof. Coq generates the proof automatically too... *) (* Print nat_ind. Print nat_rect. *) (* ===> (after some manual inlining) nat_ind = fun (P : nat -> Type) (f : P 0%nat) (f0 : forall n : nat, P n -> P (S n)) => fix F (n : nat) : P n := match n as n0 return (P n0) with | 0%nat => f | S n0 => f0 n0 (F n0) end. *) (** We can read this as follows: Suppose we have evidence [f] that [P] holds on 0, and evidence [f0] that [forall n:nat, P n -> P (S n)]. Then we can prove that [P] holds of an arbitrary nat [n] via a recursive function [F] (here defined using the expression form [Fix] rather than by a top-level [Fixpoint] declaration). [F] pattern matches on [n]: - If it finds 0, [F] uses [f] to show that [P n] holds. - If it finds [S n0], [F] applies itself recursively on [n0] to obtain evidence that [P n0] holds; then it applies [f0] on that evidence to show that [P (S n)] holds. [F] is just an ordinary recursive function that happens to operate on evidence in [Prop] rather than on terms in [Set]. Aside to those interested in functional programming: You may notice that the [match] in [F] requires an annotation [as n0 return (P n0)] to help Coq's typechecker realize that the two arms of the [match] actually return the same type (namely [P n]). This is essentially like matching over a GADT in Haskell. In fact, [F] has a _dependent_ type: its result type depends on its argument; GADT's can be used to describe simple dependent types like this. We can adapt this approach to proving [nat_ind] to help prove _non-standard_ induction principles too. Recall our desire to prove that [forall n : nat, even n -> ev n]. Attempts to do this by standard induction on [n] fail, because the induction principle only lets us proceed when we can prove that [even n -> even (S n)] -- which is of course never provable. What we did earlier in this chapter was a bit of a hack: [Theorem even_ev : forall n : nat, (even n -> ev n) /\ (even (S n) -> ev (S n))]. We can make a much better proof by defining and proving a non-standard induction principle that goes "by twos": *) Definition nat_ind2 : forall (P : nat -> Prop), P 0 -> P 1 -> (forall n : nat, P n -> P (S(S n))) -> forall n : nat , P n := fun P => fun P0 => fun P1 => fun PSS => fix f (n:nat) := match n return P n with 0 => P0 | 1 => P1 | S (S n') => PSS n' (f n') end. (** Once you get the hang of it, it is entirely straightforward to give an explicit proof term for induction principles like this. Proving this as a lemma using tactics is much less intuitive -- try it! The [induction ... using] tactic gives a convenient way to specify a non-standard induction principle like this. *) Lemma even_ev' : forall n, even n -> ev n. Proof. intros. induction n as [ | |n'] using nat_ind2. Case "even 0". apply ev_0. Case "even 1". inversion H. Case "even (S(S n'))". apply ev_SS. apply IHn'. unfold even. unfold even in H. simpl in H. apply H. Qed. (* ######################################################### *) (** * The Coq Trusted Computing Base. *) (** (This section is optional.) *) (** One issue that arises with any automated proof assistant is "why trust it"? What if there is a bug in the implementation of the prover that renders all its reasoning suspect? While it is impossible to allay such concerns completely, the fact that Coq is based on the Curry-Howard Correspondence gives it a strong foundation. Because propositions are just types and proofs are just terms, checking that an alleged proof of a proposition is valid just amounts to _type-checking_ the term. Type checkers are relatively small and straightforward to write, so the "trusted computing base" for Coq -- the part of the code that we have to believe is operating correctly -- is small too. What must a typechecker do? Its primary job is to make sure that in each function application the expected and actual argument types match, that the arms of a [match] expression are constructor patterns belonging to the inductive type being matched over and that all arms return the same type, and so on. There are a few additional wrinkles: - The checker must make sure that [match] expressions are _exhaustive_. That is, there must be an arm for every possible constructor. To see why, consider the following alleged proof object: *) (* Definition or_bogus : forall P Q, P \/ Q -> P := fun (P Q : Prop) (A : P \/ Q) => match A with | or_introl H => H end. *) (** All the types here match correctly, but the [match] only considers one of the possible constructors for [or]. - The checker must make sure that each [fix] expression terminates. It does this using a syntactic check to make sure that each recursive call is on a subexpression of the original argument. To see why this is essential, consider the alleged proof: *) (* Definition nat_false : forall (n:nat), False := fix f (n:nat) : False := f n. *) (** Again, this is perfectly well-typed, but (fortunately) Coq will reject it. - Since Coq types can themselves be expressions, the checker must normalize these (by using the conversion rules) before comparing them. Note that the soundness of Coq depends only on the correctness of this typechecking engine, not on the tactic machinery. If there is a bug in a tactic implementation (and this certainly does happen!), that tactic might construct an invalid proof term. But when you type [Qed], Coq checks the term for validity from scratch. Only lemmas whose proofs pass the type-checker can be used in further proof developments. *)