path: root/doc/sphinx/language/core/basic.rst

=============================
Basic notions and conventions
=============================

This section provides some essential notions and conventions for reading
the manual.

We start by explaining the syntax and lexical conventions used in the
manual.  Then, we present the essential vocabulary necessary to read
the rest of the manual.  Other terms are defined throughout the manual.
The reader may refer to the :ref:`glossary index <glossary_index>`
for a complete list of defined terms.  Finally, we describe the various types of
settings that Coq provides.

Syntax and lexical conventions
------------------------------

.. _syntax-conventions:

Syntax conventions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The syntax described in this documentation is equivalent to that
accepted by the Coq parser, but the grammar has been edited
to improve readability and presentation.

In the grammar presented in this manual, the terminal symbols are
black (e.g. :n:`forall`), whereas the nonterminals are green, italic
and hyperlinked (e.g. :n:`@term`).  Some syntax is represented
graphically using the following kinds of blocks:

:n:`{? item }`
   An optional item.

:n:`{+ item }`
   A list of one or more items.

:n:`{* item }`
   An optional list of items.

:n:`{+s item}`
   A list of one or more items separated by "s" (e.g. :n:`item__1 s item__2 s item__3`).

:n:`{*s item}`
   An optional list of items separated by "s".

:n:`{| item__1 | item__2 | ... }`
   Alternatives (either :n:`item__1` or :n:`item__2` or ...).

`Precedence levels
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_operations>`_ that are
implemented in the Coq parser are shown in the documentation by
appending the level to the nonterminal name (as in :n:`@term100` or
:n:`@ltac_expr3`).

.. note::

   Coq uses an extensible parser.  Plugins and the :ref:`notation
   system <syntax-extensions-and-notation-scopes>` can extend the
   syntax at run time.  Some notations are defined in the :term:`prelude`,
   which is loaded by default.  The documented grammar doesn't include
   these notations.  Precedence levels not used by the base grammar
   are omitted from the documentation, even though they could still be
   populated by notations or plugins.

   Furthermore, some parsing rules are only activated in certain
   contexts (:ref:`proof mode <proofhandling>`,
   :ref:`custom entries <custom-entries>`...).

.. warning::

   Given the complexity of these parsing rules, it would be extremely
   difficult to create an external program that can properly parse a
   Coq document.  Therefore, tool writers are advised to delegate
   parsing to Coq, by communicating with it, for instance through
   `SerAPI <https://github.com/ejgallego/coq-serapi>`_.

.. seealso:: :cmd:`Print Grammar`

.. _lexical-conventions:

Lexical conventions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blanks
  Space, newline and horizontal tab are considered blanks.
  Blanks are ignored but they separate tokens.

Comments
  Comments are enclosed between ``(*`` and ``*)``.  They can be nested.
  They can contain any character. However, embedded :n:`@string` literals must be
  correctly closed. Comments are treated as blanks.

Identifiers
  Identifiers, written :n:`@ident`, are sequences of letters, digits, ``_`` and
  ``'``, that do not start with a digit or ``'``.  That is, they are
  recognized by the following grammar (except that the string ``_`` is reserved;
  it is not a valid identifier):

  .. insertprodn ident subsequent_letter

  .. prodn::
     ident ::= @first_letter {* @subsequent_letter }
     first_letter ::= {| a .. z | A .. Z | _ | @unicode_letter }
     subsequent_letter ::= {| @first_letter | @digit | ' | @unicode_id_part }

  All characters are meaningful. In particular, identifiers are case-sensitive.
  :production:`unicode_letter` non-exhaustively includes Latin,
  Greek, Gothic, Cyrillic, Arabic, Hebrew, Georgian, Hangul, Hiragana
  and Katakana characters, CJK ideographs, mathematical letter-like
  symbols and non-breaking space. :production:`unicode_id_part`
  non-exhaustively includes symbols for prime letters and subscripts.

Numbers
  Numbers are sequences of digits with an optional fractional part
  and exponent, optionally preceded by a minus sign. Hexadecimal numbers
  start with ``0x`` or ``0X``. :n:`@bigint` are integers;
  numbers without fractional nor exponent parts. :n:`@bignat` are non-negative
  integers.  Underscores embedded in the digits are ignored, for example
  ``1_000_000`` is the same as ``1000000``.

  .. insertprodn number hexdigit

  .. prodn::
     number ::= {? - } @decnat {? . {+ {| @digit | _ } } } {? {| e | E } {? {| + | - } } @decnat }
     | {? - } @hexnat {? . {+ {| @hexdigit | _ } } } {? {| p | P } {? {| + | - } } @decnat }
     integer ::= {? - } @natural
     natural ::= @bignat
     bigint ::= {? - } @bignat
     bignat ::= {| @decnat | @hexnat }
     decnat ::= @digit {* {| @digit | _ } }
     digit ::= 0 .. 9
     hexnat ::= {| 0x | 0X } @hexdigit {* {| @hexdigit | _ } }
     hexdigit ::= {| 0 .. 9 | a .. f | A .. F }

  :n:`@integer` and :n:`@natural` are limited to the range that fits
  into an OCaml integer (63-bit integers on most architectures).
  :n:`@bigint` and :n:`@bignat` have no range limitation.

  The :ref:`standard library <thecoqlibrary>` provides some
  :ref:`interpretations <notation-scopes>` for :n:`@number`. The
  :cmd:`Number Notation` mechanism offers the user
  a way to define custom parsers and printers for :n:`@number`.

Strings
  Strings begin and end with ``"`` (double quote).  Use ``""`` to represent
  a double quote character within a string.  In the grammar, strings are
  identified with :production:`string`.

  The :cmd:`String Notation` mechanism offers the
  user a way to define custom parsers and printers for
  :token:`string`.

Keywords
  The following character sequences are keywords defined in the main Coq grammar
  that cannot be used as identifiers (even when starting Coq with the `-noinit`
  command-line flag)::

    _ Axiom CoFixpoint Definition Fixpoint Hypothesis Parameter Prop
    SProp Set Theorem Type Variable as at cofix else end
    fix for forall fun if in let match return then where with

  The following are keywords defined in notations or plugins loaded in the :term:`prelude`::

    IF by exists exists2 using

  Note that loading additional modules or plugins may expand the set of reserved
  keywords.

Other tokens
  The following character sequences are tokens defined in the main Coq grammar
  (even when starting Coq with the `-noinit` command-line flag)::

    ! #[ % & ' ( () ) * + , - ->
    . .( .. ... / : ::= := :> ; < <+ <- <:
    <<: <= = => > >-> >= ? @ @{ [ ] _
    `( `{ { {| | }

  The following character sequences are tokens defined in notations or plugins
  loaded in the :term:`prelude`::

    ** [= |- || ->

  Note that loading additional modules or plugins may expand the set of defined
  tokens.

  When multiple tokens match the beginning of a sequence of characters,
  the longest matching token is used.
  Occasionally you may need to insert spaces to separate tokens.  For example,
  if ``~`` and ``~~`` are both defined as tokens, the inputs ``~ ~`` and
  ``~~`` generate different tokens, whereas if `~~` is not defined, then the
  two inputs are equivalent.

Essential vocabulary
--------------------

This section presents the most essential notions to understand the
rest of the Coq manual: :term:`terms <term>` and :term:`types
<type>` on the one hand, :term:`commands <command>` and :term:`tactics
<tactic>` on the other hand.

.. glossary::

   term

     Terms are the basic expressions of Coq.  Terms can represent
     mathematical expressions, propositions and proofs, but also
     executable programs and program types.

     Here is the top-level syntax of terms.  Each of the listed
     constructs is presented in a dedicated section.  Some of these
     constructs (like :n:`@term_forall_or_fun`) are part of the core
     language that the kernel of Coq understands and are therefore
     described in :ref:`this chapter <core-language>`, while
     others (like :n:`@term_if`) are language extensions that are
     presented in :ref:`the next chapter <extensions>`.

     .. insertprodn term qualid_annotated

     .. prodn::
        term ::= @term_forall_or_fun
        | @term_let
        | @term_if
        | @term_fix
        | @term_cofix
        | @term100
        term100 ::= @term_cast
        | @term10
        term10 ::= @term_application
        | @one_term
        one_term ::= @term_explicit
        | @term1
        term1 ::= @term_projection
        | @term_scope
        | @term0
        term0 ::= @qualid_annotated
        | @sort
        | @primitive_notations
        | @term_evar
        | @term_match
        | @term_record
        | @term_generalizing
        | [| {*; @term } %| @term {? : @type } |] {? @univ_annot }
        | @term_ltac
        | ( @term )
        qualid_annotated ::= @qualid {? @univ_annot }

     .. note::

        Many :term:`commands <command>` and :term:`tactics <tactic>`
        use :n:`@one_term` (in the syntax of their arguments) rather
        than :n:`@term`.  The former need to be enclosed in
        parentheses unless they're very simple, such as a single
        identifier.  This avoids confusing a space-separated list of
        terms or identifiers with a :n:`@term_application`.

   type

     To be valid and accepted by the Coq kernel, a term needs an
     associated type.  We express this relationship by “:math:`x` *of
     type* :math:`T`”, which we write as “:math:`x:T`”.  Informally,
     “:math:`x:T`” can be thought as “:math:`x` *belongs to*
     :math:`T`”.

     The Coq kernel is a type checker: it verifies that a term has
     the expected type by applying a set of typing rules (see
     :ref:`Typing-rules`).  If that's indeed the case, we say that the
     term is :gdef:`well-typed`.

     A special feature of the Coq language is that types can depend
     on terms (we say that the language is `dependently-typed
     <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dependent_type>`_).  Because of
     this, types and terms share a common syntax.  All types are terms,
     but not all terms are types:

     .. insertprodn type type

     .. prodn::
        type ::= @term

     Intuitively, types may be viewed as sets containing terms.  We
     say that a type is :gdef:`inhabited` if it contains at least one
     term (i.e. if we can find a term which is associated with this
     type).  We call such terms :gdef:`witnesses <witness>`.  Note that deciding
     whether a type is inhabited is `undecidable
     <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undecidable_problem>`_.

     Formally, types can be used to construct logical foundations for
     mathematics alternative to the standard `"set theory"
     <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_theory>`_: we call such
     logical foundations `"type theories"
     <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_theory>`_.  Coq is based on
     the Calculus of Inductive Constructions, which is a particular
     instance of type theory.

   sentence

     Coq documents are made of a series of sentences that contain
     :term:`commands <command>` or :term:`tactics <tactic>`, generally
     terminated with a period and optionally decorated with
     :term:`attributes <attribute>`.

     .. insertprodn document sentence

     .. prodn::
        document ::= {* @sentence }
        sentence ::= {? @attributes } @command .
        | {? @attributes } {? @natural : } @query_command .
        | {? @attributes } {? @toplevel_selector : } @ltac_expr {| . | ... }
        | @control_command

     :n:`@ltac_expr` syntax supports both simple and compound
     :term:`tactics <tactic>`.  For example: ``split`` is a simple
     tactic while ``split; auto`` combines two simple tactics.

   command

     A :production:`command` can be used to modify the state of a Coq
     document, for instance by declaring a new object, or to get
     information about the current state.

     By convention, command names begin with uppercase letters.
     Commands appear in the HTML documentation in blue or gray boxes
     after the label "Command".  In the pdf, they appear after the
     boldface label "Command:".  Commands are listed in the
     :ref:`command_index`.  Example:

     .. cmd:: Comments {* {| @one_term | @string | @natural } }

        Prints "Comments ok" and does not change
        the state of the document.

   tactic

     A :production:`tactic` specifies how to transform the current proof state as a
     step in creating a proof.  They are syntactically valid only when
     Coq is in :term:`proof mode`, such as after a :cmd:`Theorem` command
     and before any subsequent proof-terminating command such as
     :cmd:`Qed`.  See :ref:`proofhandling` for more on proof mode.

     By convention, tactic names begin with lowercase letters.  Tactic
     appear in the HTML documentation in blue or gray boxes after the
     label "Tactic".  In the pdf, they appear after the boldface label
     "Tactic:".  Tactics are listed in the :ref:`tactic_index`.

Settings
--------

There are several mechanisms for changing the behavior of Coq.  The
:term:`attribute` mechanism is used to modify the behavior of a single
:term:`sentence`.  The :term:`flag`, :term:`option` and :term:`table`
mechanisms are used to modify the behavior of Coq more globally in a
document or project.

.. _attributes:

Attributes
~~~~~~~~~~

An :gdef:`attribute` modifies the behavior of a single sentence.
Syntactically, most commands and tactics can be decorated with
attributes (cf. :n:`@sentence`), but attributes not supported by the
command or tactic will trigger :warn:`This command does not support
this attribute`.

.. insertprodn attributes legacy_attr

.. prodn::
   attributes ::= {* #[ {*, @attribute } ] } {* @legacy_attr }
   attribute ::= @ident {? @attr_value }
   attr_value ::= = @string
   | = @ident
   | ( {*, @attribute } )
   legacy_attr ::= {| Local | Global }
   | {| Polymorphic | Monomorphic }
   | {| Cumulative | NonCumulative }
   | Private
   | Program

The order of top-level attributes doesn't affect their meaning.  ``#[foo,bar]``, ``#[bar,foo]``,
``#[foo]#[bar]`` and ``#[bar]#[foo]`` are equivalent.

:gdef:`Boolean attributes <boolean attribute>` take the form :n:`@ident__attr{? = {| yes | no } }`.
When the :n:`{| yes | no }` value is omitted, the default is :n:`yes`.

The legacy attributes (:n:`@legacy_attr`) provide an older, alternate syntax
for certain attributes.  They are equivalent to new attributes as follows:

=============================  ================================
Legacy attribute               New attribute
=============================  ================================
`Local`                        :attr:`local`
`Global`                       :attr:`global`
`Polymorphic`, `Monomorphic`   :attr:`universes(polymorphic)`
`Cumulative`, `NonCumulative`  :attr:`universes(cumulative)`
`Private`                      :attr:`private(matching)`
`Program`                      :attr:`program`
=============================  ================================

Attributes appear in the HTML documentation in blue or gray boxes
after the label "Attribute".  In the pdf, they appear after the
boldface label "Attribute:".  Attributes are listed in the
:ref:`attribute_index`.

.. warn:: This command does not support this attribute: @ident.
   :name: This command does not support this attribute

   This warning is configured to behave as an error by default.  You
   may turn it into a normal warning by using the :opt:`Warnings` option:

   .. coqtop:: none

      Set Silent.

   .. coqtop:: all warn

      Set Warnings "unsupported-attributes".
      #[ foo ] Comments.

.. _flags-options-tables:

Flags, Options and Tables
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following types of settings can be used to change the behavior of Coq in
subsequent commands and tactics (see :ref:`set_unset_scope_qualifiers` for a
more precise description of the scope of these settings):

* A :gdef:`flag` has a boolean value, such as :flag:`Universe Polymorphism`.
* An :gdef:`option` generally has a numeric or string value, such as :opt:`Firstorder Depth`.
* A :gdef:`table` contains a set of :token:`string`\s or :token:`qualid`\s.
* In addition, some commands provide settings, such as :cmd:`Extraction Language`.

.. FIXME Convert "Extraction Language" to an option.

.. insertprodn setting_name setting_name

.. prodn::
   setting_name ::= {+ @ident }

..

   Flags, options and tables are identified by a series of
   identifiers.  By convention, each of the identifiers start with an
   initial capital letter.

Flags, options and tables appear in the HTML documentation in blue or
gray boxes after the labels "Flag", "Option" and "Table".  In the pdf,
they appear after a boldface label.  They are listed in the
:ref:`options_index`.

.. cmd:: Set @setting_name {? {| @integer | @string } }

   If :n:`@setting_name` is a flag, no value may be provided; the flag
   is set to on.
   If :n:`@setting_name` is an option, a value of the appropriate type
   must be provided; the option is set to the specified value.

   This command supports the :attr:`local`, :attr:`global` and :attr:`export` attributes.
   They are described :ref:`here <set_unset_scope_qualifiers>`.

   .. warn:: There is no flag or option with this name: "@setting_name".

      This warning message can be raised by :cmd:`Set` and
      :cmd:`Unset` when :n:`@setting_name` is unknown.  It is a
      warning rather than an error because this helps library authors
      produce Coq code that is compatible with several Coq versions.
      To preserve the same behavior, they may need to set some
      compatibility flags or options that did not exist in previous
      Coq versions.

.. cmd:: Unset @setting_name

   If :n:`@setting_name` is a flag, it is set to off.  If :n:`@setting_name` is an option, it is
   set to its default value.

   This command supports the :attr:`local`, :attr:`global` and :attr:`export` attributes.
   They are described :ref:`here <set_unset_scope_qualifiers>`.

.. cmd:: Add @setting_name {+ {| @qualid | @string } }

   Adds the specified values to the table :n:`@setting_name`.

.. cmd:: Remove @setting_name {+ {| @qualid | @string } }

   Removes the specified value from the table :n:`@setting_name`.

.. cmd:: Test @setting_name {? for {+ {| @qualid | @string } } }

   If :n:`@setting_name` is a flag or option, prints its current value.
   If :n:`@setting_name` is a table: if the `for` clause is specified, reports
   whether the table contains each specified value, otherwise this is equivalent to
   :cmd:`Print Table`.  The `for` clause is not valid for flags and options.

   .. exn:: There is no flag, option or table with this name: "@setting_name".

      This error message is raised when calling the :cmd:`Test`
      command (without the `for` clause), or the :cmd:`Print Table`
      command, for an unknown :n:`@setting_name`.

   .. exn:: There is no qualid-valued table with this name: "@setting_name".
            There is no string-valued table with this name: "@setting_name".

      These error messages are raised when calling the :cmd:`Add` or
      :cmd:`Remove` commands, or the :cmd:`Test` command with the
      `for` clause, if :n:`@setting_name` is unknown or does not have
      the right type.

.. cmd:: Print Options

   Prints the current value of all flags and options, and the names of all tables.

.. cmd:: Print Table @setting_name

   Prints the values in the table :n:`@setting_name`.

.. cmd:: Print Tables

   A synonym for :cmd:`Print Options`.

.. _set_unset_scope_qualifiers:

Locality attributes supported by :cmd:`Set` and :cmd:`Unset`
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The :cmd:`Set` and :cmd:`Unset` commands support the mutually
exclusive :attr:`local`, :attr:`export` and :attr:`global` locality
attributes (or the ``Local``, ``Export`` or ``Global`` prefixes).

If no attribute is specified, the original value of the flag or option
is restored at the end of the current module but it is *not* restored
at the end of the current section.

Newly opened modules and sections inherit the current settings.

.. note::

   We discourage using the :attr:`global` locality attribute with the
   :cmd:`Set` and :cmd:`Unset` commands.  If your goal is to define
   project-wide settings, you should rather use the command-line
   arguments ``-set`` and ``-unset`` for setting flags and options
   (see :ref:`command-line-options`).