augment : prover -> thm list -> prover
- SYNOPSIS
-
Augments a prover's context with new theorems.
- DESCRIPTION
-
The HOL Light simplifier (e.g. as invoked by SIMP_TAC) allows provers of type
prover to be installed into simpsets, to automatically dispose of
side-conditions. These may maintain a state dynamically and augment it as more
theorems become available (e.g. a theorem p |- p becomes available when
simplifying the consequent of an implication `p ==> q`). In order to allow
maximal flexibility in the data structure used to maintain state, provers are
set up in an `object-oriented' style, where the context is part of the prover
function itself. A call augment p thl maps a prover p to a new prover with
theorems thl added to the initial state.
- FAILURE CONDITIONS
-
Never fails unless the prover is abnormal.
- USES
-
This is mostly for experts wishing to customize the simplifier.
- COMMENTS
-
I learned of this ingenious trick for maintaining context from Don Syme, who
discovered it by reading some code written by Richard Boulton. I was told by
Simon Finn that there are similar ideas in the functional language literature
for simulating existential types.
- SEE ALSO
-
apply_prover, mk_prover, SIMP_CONV, SIMP_RULE, SIMP_TAC.