Mutually Iso-Recursive Subtyping

Abstract

Iso-recursive types are often taken as a type-theoretic model for type recursion as present in many programming languages, e.g., classes in object-oriented languages or algebraic datatypes in functional languages. Their main advantage over an equi-recursive semantics is that they are simpler and algorithmically less expensive, which is an important consideration when the cost of type checking matters, such as for intermediate or low-level code representations, virtual machines, or runtime casts. However, a closer look reveals that iso-recursion cannot, in its standard form, efficiently express essential type system features like mutual recursion or non-uniform recursion. While it has been folklore that mutual recursion and non-uniform type parameterisation can nicely be handled by generalising to higher kinds, this encoding breaks down when combined with subtyping: the classic “Amber” rule for subtyping iso-recursive types is too weak to express mutual recursion without falling back to encodings of quadratic size. We present a foundational core calculus of iso-recursive types with declared subtyping that can express both inter- and intra-recursion subtyping without such blowup, including subtyping between constructors of higher or mixed kind. In a second step, we identify a syntactic fragment of this general calculus that allows for more efficient type checking without “deep” substitutions, by observing that higher-kinded iso-recursive types can be inserted to “guard” against unwanted β-reductions. This fragment closely resembles the structure of typical nominal subtype systems, but without requiring nominal semantics. It has been used as the basis for a proposed extension of WebAssembly with recursive types.