Rewriting with Strategies in ELAN: A Functional Semantics

In this work, we consider term rewriting from a functional point of view. A rewrite rule is a function that can be applied to a term using an explicit application function. From this starting point, we show how to build more elaborated functions, describing first rewrite derivations, then sets of derivations. These functions, that we call strategies, can themselves be defined by rewrite rules and the construction can be iterated leading to higher-order strategies. Furthermore, the application function is itself defined using rewriting in the same spirit. We present this calculus and study its properties. Its implementation in the ELAN language is used to motivate and exemplify the whole approach. The expressiveness of ELAN is illustrated by examples of polymorphic functions and strategies.