Bounded linear logic: a modular approach to polynomial-time computability

AbstractUsual typed lambda-calculi yield input/output specifications; in this paper the authors show how to extend this paradigm to complexity specifications. This is achieved by means of a restricted version of linear logic in which the use of exponential connectives is bounded in advance. This bounded linear logic naturally involves polynomials in its syntax and dynamics. It is then proved that any functional term of appropriate type actually encodes a polynomial-time algorithm and that conversely any polynomial-time function can be obtained in this way