Metamath Zero (MM0) is a proof assistant developed by Mario Carneiro. It has a metalogic very similar to the metalogic of MetaMath, but it also borrows design choices from Lean (and maybe other sources). It will also (when complete) have novel features such as a fully verified byte code kernel.
My understanding is that one use case of MM0 is as an external checker for other proof assistants. It should be able to take an exported kernel proof from one proof assistant and double check it with its own kernel. (Similarly, it can translate proofs from one axiom system to another in a low level way.)
However, if I understand correctly MM0 uses a rule based logic similar to that of Metamath. For example, one might have a rule that says if x and y are judgementally equal, then they are equal:
type A x : A y : A x ≡ y
---------------------------------
x = y
While Martin-Löf type theory (and it's variations) provides the rules to derive that x ≡ y
, my understanding is that CIC specifically doesn't require the user to supply a proof/derivation of, say 0 ≡ 0 + 0
, but instead just checks it in real time by normalizing each term (or something along those lines). My understanding, for example, is that while Lean does store kernel level proofs for all its theorems (and exports them to the .olean
format), it doesn't store the proofs/derivations of judgemental equality (or type checking) since those can be recomputed.
How does (or will) MM0 handle this sort of thing when checking Lean, Coq, or other CIC proofs?
I see a few possibilities:
- Extract the full proof from a modified Lean or Coq kernel including all step-by-step derivations of judgemental equality, type checking, etc.
- Use MM0 tactics to convert a Lean or Coq term proof into a full proof filling in all the gaps.
- MM0's kernel will already have direct support for computational rules similar for those needed to derive judgemental equality and type checking. (And if so, I guess MM0's kernel will be more flexible than Metamath's in that regard, since Metamath's requires one to spell out every little step.)