A Coalgebraic Semantics of Subtyping

Erik Poll

RAIRO - Theoretical Informatics and Applications (2010)

  • Volume: 35, Issue: 1, page 61-81
  • ISSN: 0988-3754

Abstract

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Coalgebras have been proposed as formal basis for the semantics of objects in the sense of object-oriented programming. This paper shows that this semantics provides a smooth interpretation for subtyping, a central notion in object-oriented programming. We show that different characterisations of behavioural subtyping found in the literature can conveniently be expressed in coalgebraic terms. We also investigate the subtle difference between behavioural subtyping and refinement.

How to cite

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Poll, Erik. "A Coalgebraic Semantics of Subtyping." RAIRO - Theoretical Informatics and Applications 35.1 (2010): 61-81. <http://eudml.org/doc/221987>.

@article{Poll2010,
abstract = { Coalgebras have been proposed as formal basis for the semantics of objects in the sense of object-oriented programming. This paper shows that this semantics provides a smooth interpretation for subtyping, a central notion in object-oriented programming. We show that different characterisations of behavioural subtyping found in the literature can conveniently be expressed in coalgebraic terms. We also investigate the subtle difference between behavioural subtyping and refinement. },
author = {Poll, Erik},
journal = {RAIRO - Theoretical Informatics and Applications},
keywords = {coalgebras; object-oriented programming; subtyping; refinement},
language = {eng},
month = {3},
number = {1},
pages = {61-81},
publisher = {EDP Sciences},
title = {A Coalgebraic Semantics of Subtyping},
url = {http://eudml.org/doc/221987},
volume = {35},
year = {2010},
}

TY - JOUR
AU - Poll, Erik
TI - A Coalgebraic Semantics of Subtyping
JO - RAIRO - Theoretical Informatics and Applications
DA - 2010/3//
PB - EDP Sciences
VL - 35
IS - 1
SP - 61
EP - 81
AB - Coalgebras have been proposed as formal basis for the semantics of objects in the sense of object-oriented programming. This paper shows that this semantics provides a smooth interpretation for subtyping, a central notion in object-oriented programming. We show that different characterisations of behavioural subtyping found in the literature can conveniently be expressed in coalgebraic terms. We also investigate the subtle difference between behavioural subtyping and refinement.
LA - eng
KW - coalgebras; object-oriented programming; subtyping; refinement
UR - http://eudml.org/doc/221987
ER -

References

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