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Main Authors: Eriksson, Oscar, Thuné, Anders Ågren, Borgström, Johannes, Broman, David
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.13970
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author Eriksson, Oscar
Thuné, Anders Ågren
Borgström, Johannes
Broman, David
author_facet Eriksson, Oscar
Thuné, Anders Ågren
Borgström, Johannes
Broman, David
contents In recent years, there has been extensive research on how to extend general-purpose programming language semantics with domain-specific modeling constructs. Two areas of particular interest are (i) universal probabilistic programming where Bayesian probabilistic models are encoded as programs, and (ii) differentiable programming where differentiation operators are first class or differential equations are part of the language semantics. These kinds of languages and their language constructs are usually studied separately or composed in restrictive ways. In this paper, we study and formalize the combination of probabilistic programming constructs, first-class differentiation, and ordinary differential equations in a higher-order setting. We propose formal semantics for a core of such differentiable probabilistic programming language (DPPL), where the type system tracks random computations and rejects unsafe compositions during type checking. The semantics and its type system are formalized, mechanized, and proven sound in Agda with respect to abstract language constructs.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_13970
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle CoreDPPL: Towards a Sound Composition of Differentiation, ODE Solving, and Probabilistic Programming
Eriksson, Oscar
Thuné, Anders Ågren
Borgström, Johannes
Broman, David
Programming Languages
In recent years, there has been extensive research on how to extend general-purpose programming language semantics with domain-specific modeling constructs. Two areas of particular interest are (i) universal probabilistic programming where Bayesian probabilistic models are encoded as programs, and (ii) differentiable programming where differentiation operators are first class or differential equations are part of the language semantics. These kinds of languages and their language constructs are usually studied separately or composed in restrictive ways. In this paper, we study and formalize the combination of probabilistic programming constructs, first-class differentiation, and ordinary differential equations in a higher-order setting. We propose formal semantics for a core of such differentiable probabilistic programming language (DPPL), where the type system tracks random computations and rejects unsafe compositions during type checking. The semantics and its type system are formalized, mechanized, and proven sound in Agda with respect to abstract language constructs.
title CoreDPPL: Towards a Sound Composition of Differentiation, ODE Solving, and Probabilistic Programming
topic Programming Languages
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.13970