Weak-linearity, globality and in-place update

Abstract

Computational interpretations of linear logic allow static control of memory resources: the data produced by the program are endowed through its type with attributes that determine its life cycle. This has promoted numerous investigations into safe introduction of in-place update. Various type systems have been proposed for this aim, but the memory management that promotes linear evaluation does not adequately model the destruction of in-place update. The main achievement of this work is to establish a simple theoretical framework that will allow us to clarify the potential (and limits) of linearity to guarantee the process of transforming a functional program into an imperative one. For this purpose we will introduce a type system called "global" that will model the in-place update as the linear system models the one-time use.