Lemmy: Bestiverse
  • Communities
  • Create Post
  • Create Community
  • heart
    Support Lemmy
  • search
    Search
  • Login
  • Sign Up
RSS BotMB to Hacker NewsEnglish · 2 days ago

Show HN: Lean4 proof that SSOT requires definition-time hooks and introspection

zenodo.org

external-link
message-square
0
fedilink
1
external-link

Show HN: Lean4 proof that SSOT requires definition-time hooks and introspection

zenodo.org

RSS BotMB to Hacker NewsEnglish · 2 days ago
message-square
0
fedilink
Formal Foundations for the Single Source of Truth Principle
zenodo.org
external-link
Any system encoding facts faces a fundamental constraint: when multiple independent locations encode the same fact, truth becomes indeterminate. We prove that DOF = 1 (Single Source of Truth) is the unique representation guaranteeing coherence, the impossibility of disagreement among encodings. The Core Theorem (Oracle Arbitrariness). In any incoherent encoding system (DOF > 1 with divergent values), no resolution is principled: for ANY oracle claiming to identify the "true" value, there exists an equally-present value that disagrees. This is not about inconvenience. It is about the determinacy of truth. Programming languages instantiate this epistemic structure: encoding systems become codebases, facts become structural specifications (class existence, method signatures), coherence becomes consistency across encoding locations, and DOF = 1 becomes the Single Source of Truth (DRY principle). Encoding systems → CodebasesFacts → Structural specifications (class existence, method signatures)Coherence → Consistency across encoding locationsDOF = 1 → Single Source of Truth (DRY principle)We prove that achieving DOF = 1 for structural facts requires specific language features: definition-time hooks AND introspectable derivation. Most mainstream languages (Java, C++, Rust, Go, TypeScript, etc.) lack these features and cannot achieve coherence for structural facts regardless of programmer effort. Four Theorems: Coherence Forcing: DOF = 1 is the unique value guaranteeing coherence. DOF = 0 means the fact is unrepresented; DOF > 1 permits incoherent states.Oracle Arbitrariness: Under incoherence, any resolution is arbitrary, no oracle is justified by the encodings alone.Language Requirements: For structural facts in software, DOF = 1 requires definition-time hooks AND introspection. These are logically forced.Strict Dominance: The coherence restoration complexity gap is unbounded: O(1) vs Ω(n).Theoretical Foundation. The derivation theory (independence, derivability, axis collapse) is established in previous work (https://zenodo.org/records/18123532). This paper proves the coherence consequences and instantiates them to programming languages. All theorems machine-checked in Lean 4 (2,104 lines, 119 theorems). Practical demonstration via OpenHCS PR #44: migration from 47 scattered checks to 1 ABC (DOF 47 → 1).

Comments

alert-triangle
You must log in or register to comment.

Hacker News

hackernews

Subscribe from Remote Instance

You are not logged in. However you can subscribe from another Fediverse account, for example Lemmy or Mastodon. To do this, paste the following into the search field of your instance: !hackernews@lemmy.bestiver.se
lock
Community locked: only moderators can create posts. You can still comment on posts.

Posts from the RSS Feed of HackerNews.

The feed sometimes contains ads and posts that have been removed by the mod team at HN.

Visibility: Public
globe

This community can be federated to other instances and be posted/commented in by their users.

  • 855 users / day
  • 1.68K users / week
  • 4.13K users / month
  • 9.59K users / 6 months
  • 2 local subscribers
  • 3.39K subscribers
  • 40.2K Posts
  • 19.5K Comments
  • Modlog
  • mods:
  • patrick
  • RSS Bot
  • BE: 0.19.5
  • Modlog
  • Instances
  • Docs
  • Code
  • join-lemmy.org