A Linear Logic Calculus of Objects

Overview & Synopsis

This paper presents a linear logic programming language, called O−• , that gives a complete account of an object-oriented calculus with inheritance and override. This language is best understood as a logical counterpart the object and record extensions of functional programming that have recently been proposed in the literature. From these proposals, O−• inherits the representation of objects as composite data structures, with attribute and method fields, as well as their interpretation as first-class values. O−• also gives a direct logical modeling of the self-application semantics of method invocation that justifies the view of objects as elements of recursive types. As such, the design of O−• appears interesting, in perspective, as a basis for developing flexible and powerful type systems for logical object-based languages.