Linearizing some recursive logic programs

We give a sufficient condition under which the least fixpoint of the equation X=a+f(X)X equals the least fixpoint of the equation X=a+f(a)X. We then apply that condition to recursive logic programs containing chain rules: we translate it into a sufficient condition under which a recursive logic program containing n⩾2 recursive calls in the bodies of the rules is equivalent to a linear program containing at most one recursive call in the bodies of the rules. We conclude with a discussion comparing our condition with the other approaches to linearization studied in the literature     

Pushdown tree automata

We define topdown pushdown tree automata (PDTA's) which extend the usual string pushdown automata by allowing trees instead of strings in both the input and the stack. We prove that PDTA's recognize the class of context-free tree languages. (Quasi)realtime and deterministic PDTA's accept the classes of Greibach and deterministic tree languages, respectively. Finally, PDTA's are shown to be equivalent to restricted PDTA's, whose stack is linear: this both yields a more operational way of recognizing context-free tree languages and connects them with the class of indexed languages.     

On lattices of regular sets of natural integers closed under decrementation

We consider lattices of regular sets of non negative integers, i.e. of sets definable in Presburger arithmetic. We prove that if such a lattice is closed under decrement then it is also closed under many other functions: quotients by an integer, roots, etc. We characterize the family of such functions.     

Program transformations and algebraic semantics

We study transformations and equivalences of recursive program schemes. We give an optimization algorithm which recognizes and removes all parts of a program scheme which do not affect its final output. This result leads to a syntactic way of suppressing some erroneous loops in programs and can be used to prove that equivalence of recursive program schemes is solvable under particular conditions.