Mathematicians have long recognized the distinction between
an argument showing that an interesting object exists and a
procedure for actually constructing the object. Computer
science adds a new dimension of interest in constructivity,
since a computer program is a formal description of a
constructive procedure that can be executed automatically.
It has beenover a decade since a conference was devoted to
constructivity, and never before has one been held
specifically relating computer science to constructivity.
Thus, this proceedings volume is the most concentrated
offering ever produced of the diverse ways in which
constructivity and computer science are related. The papers
cover semantics and type theory, logic and theorem proving,
real and complex analysis, topology and combinatorics,
nonconstructive graph-theoretical techniques, and curriculum
and pedagogic issues.
The book offers a concentrated view of the many ways in
which constructivity has assumed importance in computer
science, and contains results available nowhere else.