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Closure conversion is safe for space

Authors:

Zoe Paraskevopoulou,

Andrew W. AppelAuthors Info & Claims

Proceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages, Volume 3, Issue ICFP

Article No.: 83, Pages 1 - 29

https://doi.org/10.1145/3341687

Published: 26 July 2019 Publication History

Abstract

We formally prove that closure conversion with flat environments for CPS lambda calculus is correct (preserves semantics) and safe for time and space, meaning that produced code preserves the time and space required for the execution of the source program.

We give a cost model to pre- and post-closure-conversion code by formalizing profiling semantics that keep track of the time and space resources needed for the execution of a program, taking garbage collection into account. To show preservation of time and space we set up a general, "garbage-collection compatible", binary logical relation that establishes invariants on resource consumption of the related programs, along with functional correctness. Using this framework, we show semantics preservation and space and time safety for terminating source programs, and divergence preservation and space safety for diverging source programs.

We formally prove that closure conversion with flat environments for CPS lambda calculus is correct (preserves semantics) and safe for time and space, meaning that produced code preserves the time and space required for the execution of the source program.

We give a cost model to pre- and post-closure-conversion code by formalizing profiling semantics that keep track of the time and space resources needed for the execution of a program, taking garbage collection into account. To show preservation of time and space we set up a general, "garbage-collection compatible", binary logical relation that establishes invariants on resource consumption of the related programs, along with functional correctness. Using this framework, we show semantics preservation and space and time safety for terminating source programs, and divergence preservation and space safety for diverging source programs.

This is the first formal proof of space-safety of a closure-conversion transformation. The transformation and the proof are parts of the CertiCoq compiler pipeline from Coq (Gallina) through CompCert Clight to assembly language. Our results are mechanized in the Coq proof assistant.

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Cited By

Arranz Olmos SBarthe GBlatter LGrégoire BLaporte V(2025)Preservation of Speculative Constant-Time by CompilationProceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages10.1145/37048809:POPL(1293-1325)Online publication date: 9-Jan-2025
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3704880
Korkut JStark KAppel A(2025)A Verified Foreign Function Interface between Coq and CProceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages10.1145/37048609:POPL(687-717)Online publication date: 9-Jan-2025
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3704860
Sullivan ZDownen PAriola Z(2023)Closure Conversion in Little PiecesProceedings of the 25th International Symposium on Principles and Practice of Declarative Programming10.1145/3610612.3610622(1-13)Online publication date: 22-Oct-2023
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Index Terms

Closure conversion is safe for space
1. Software and its engineering
  1. Software notations and tools
    1. General programming languages

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cover image Proceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages

Proceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages Volume 3, Issue ICFP

August 2019

1054 pages

EISSN:2475-1421

DOI:10.1145/3352468

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Copyright © 2019 Owner/Author.

Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for third-party components of this work must be honored. For all other uses, contact the Owner/Author.

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Publication History

Published: 26 July 2019

Published in PACMPL Volume 3, Issue ICFP

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Arranz Olmos SBarthe GBlatter LGrégoire BLaporte V(2025)Preservation of Speculative Constant-Time by CompilationProceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages10.1145/37048809:POPL(1293-1325)Online publication date: 9-Jan-2025
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3704880
Korkut JStark KAppel A(2025)A Verified Foreign Function Interface between Coq and CProceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages10.1145/37048609:POPL(687-717)Online publication date: 9-Jan-2025
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3704860
Sullivan ZDownen PAriola Z(2023)Closure Conversion in Little PiecesProceedings of the 25th International Symposium on Principles and Practice of Declarative Programming10.1145/3610612.3610622(1-13)Online publication date: 22-Oct-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3610612.3610622
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