arXiv subjects

Prabhakar Ragde

Publications and source records attributed to Prabhakar Ragde.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2016

Proust: A Nano Proof Assistant

Proust is a small Racket program offering rudimentary interactive assistance in the development of verified proofs for propositional and predicate logic. It is constructed in stages, some of which are done by students before using it to complete proof exercises, and in parallel with the study of its theoretical underpinnings, including elements of Martin-Lof type theory. The goal is twofold: to demystify some of the machinery behind full-featured proof assistants such as Coq and Agda, and to better integrate the study of formal logic with other core elements of an undergraduate computer science curriculum.

cs.PL↗

arXiv2014

Simple Balanced Binary Search Trees

Efficient implementations of sets and maps (dictionaries) are important in computer science, and balanced binary search trees are the basis of the best practical implementations. Pedagogically, however, they are often quite complicated, especially with respect to deletion. I present complete code (with justification and analysis not previously available in the literature) for a purely-functional implementation based on AA trees, which is the simplest treatment of the subject of which I am aware.

cs.PL↗

arXiv2013

Mathematics Is Imprecise

We commonly think of mathematics as bringing precision to application domains, but its relationship with computer science is more complex. This experience report on the use of Racket and Haskell to teach a required first university CS course to students with very good mathematical skills focusses on the ways that programming forces one to get the details right, with consequent benefits in the mathematical domain. Conversely, imprecision in mathematical abstractions and notation can work to the benefit of beginning programmers, if handled carefully.

cs.PL↗