Coq tactics

List

Tacticals:

DONE exact

Provide a value of the goal type.

Say that goal type matches type of provided value exactly.

Goal
  nat.
Proof.
  exact 1.
Qed.

DONE assert

State and prove a theorem in the middle of another proof.

Once this theorem is proved, it is added to the context as a hypothesis.

Goal                                   
  2 * 3 = 3 + 3.                       
Proof.                                 
  assert (forall n:nat, 2 * n = n + n).
  - intros.                            
    ring.
  - exact (H 3).
Qed.                                   

Here's another example:

Goal                 
  forall n:nat,      
    n + 0 = n.       
Proof.               
  intro n.           
  assert (n+0 = 0+n).
  - simpl.
    induction n.
    + reflexivity.
    + simpl.
      rewrite IHn.
      reflexivity.
  - rewrite H.
    reflexivity.     
Qed.                 

DONE enough

Almost same as assert tactic, except that the assertion needs to be proved only after it is used.

Require Import Arith. (* For [ring] on nat *) 

Goal                                          
  2 * 3 = 3 + 3.                              
Proof.                                        
  enough (forall n:nat, 2 * n = n + n).       
  - apply (H 3).                              
  - intro n.                                  
    ring.                                     
Qed.                                          

DONE f_equal

If same constructor shows on both sides of a goal (not hypothesis. Use injection?? for that?).

Goal                                 
  forall n m:nat, n = m -> S n = S m.
Proof.                               
  intros.                            
  f_equal.
Qed.

DONE revert

Moves a hypothesis to goal.

Sort of like the reverse of intro.

Goal
  forall n:nat, n + 0 = n.
Proof.
  intro n.
  revert n.

Resembles generalize, which is more powerful.

DONE reflexivity

A simple tactic.

Broadly speaking, reflexivity solves the goal if it is of the form t = u after verifying that t and u are definitively equal; otherwise fails.

Lemma bar : forall (a : nat), a = a.
Proof.
  intros.
  (* a = a *)

  reflexivity.
  (* All goals completed *)

reflexivity implicitly has the effect of simpl as well.

DONE symmetry

Change a goal of the form a = b to b = a.

Lemma bar : forall (a b : nat), a + b = b + a.
Proof.
  intros.
  (* a + b = b + a *)

  symmetry.
  (* b + a = a + b *)

DONE induction

Perform induction over a term of an inductive type. Generates two sub-goals:

For example, for nat,

Goal            
  forall n:nat, 
    n + 0 = n.  
Proof.          
  intro n.      
  induction n.
  - reflexivity.
  - simpl.      
    rewrite IHn.
    reflexivity.
Qed.

DONE discriminate

If a proof goal has an associated hypothesis which is an impossible (ie, False:Prop) structural equality of the form term1 = term2 like one among

S O = O
S (S O) = O
S O = S (S (S O)) 

then, discriminate can prove that goal.

If goal is in the term₁ <> term₂ form, using discriminate has the same effect as intro H. discriminate H.. Helps avoid introducing a new name in such a case.

Example:

Goal             
  forall n:nat,  
   S n <> O.     
Proof.           
  intros a H.    
  (* [a<>b] is actually [a=b -> False]. That's why. *)

  discriminate H.
Qed.             


Goal             
  forall n:nat,  
   S n <> O.     
Proof.           
  discriminate.  
Qed.


Goal
  true = false -> False.
Proof.
  discriminate.
Qed.

DONE elim

Something like an older, more basic version of induction. Coq docs recommends using induction instead.

Unlike induction, elim doesn't modify the local context. We got to do it ourselves.

Goal              
  forall n:nat,   
    n + 0 = n.    
Proof.            
  intro n.        
  elim n.         
  - reflexivity.  
  - intros n1 IHn.
    simpl.
    rewrite IHn.  
    reflexivity.  
Qed.              

DONE assumption

Roughly put, assumption can be used if the goal is same as one of the hypotheses in the current context.

Goal                    
  forall p:Prop, p -> p.
Proof.                  
  intros p H.           
  assumption.
Qed.

DONE exists

When the goal involves a ∃, provide a term of that type to solve that goal.

Goal                
  exists n, 0+n = 0.
Proof.              
  exists 0.         
  reflexivity.
Qed.

DONE left / right

Applicable when the goal consists two parts and only one of them needs to be proved to prove the whole thing.

left proceeds with the first one, while right is used to go with the other.

An example with left and Prop:

Goal                                   
  forall p:Prop, (2<3) \/ (3<2).       
Proof.                                 
  left.
  constructor.
Qed.                                   

Another example, with right and sumbool:

Goal                            
  {2>3} + {2<=3}.
Proof.                          
  right.                        
  auto.                         
Qed.                            

DONE injection

Takes advantage of the fact that the constructors in Coq are injective.

For example, if we got an assumption saying

constr a = constr b~

where constr is a constructor of some type, then injection can figure out that

a = b

would be true as well.

Goal                                 
  forall a b:nat, S a = S b -> a = b.
Proof.
  intros.                            
  injection H.                       
  intro IHh.                         
  exact IHh.
Qed.                                 

DONE clear

Remove a hypothesis from the local context.

Eg:

With

Goal                           
 forall n:nat, n > 0 -> n >= 0.
Proof.                         
  intros n H.                  

where goal would be

1 subgoal

n : nat
H : n > 0

========================= (1 / 1)

n >= 0

Use clear H. and the goal will change to:

1 subgoal

n : nat

========================= (1 / 1)

n >= 0

DONE set

Give a name to a term in the conclusion of the goal and add it to the local context.

Require Import Nat.

Goal                       
  forall n:nat,            
    match (Nat.even n) with
    | true => 1            
    | false => 0           
    end >= 0.              
Proof.                     
  intro n.                 

and the goal would be:

1 subgoal

n : nat

========================= (1 / 1)

(if even n then 1 else 0) >= 0

But do

set (ie:= Nat.even n).   

then the goal would become

1 subgoal

n : nat
ie := even n : bool

========================= (1 / 1)

(if ie then 1 else 0) >= 0

Useful in cases where we need a term to do case analysis on.

In the example, we can do destruct ie which wouldn't have been possible before the set usage.

DONE cut

Provide an extra hypothesis, prove the goal and then prove that the hypothesis is indeed correct.

a la 'cut-rule'.

Probably better to make a separate theorem and use it instead of trying cut. Always good to be able to reuse proofs that have already been made. And reusage is possible only if they have names.

Example:

Require Nat.                   

Goal                           
  forall a b c:nat,            
    b = 0 -> a + b + c = a + c.
Proof.                         
  intros a b c.                
  intro Hb0.                   
  cut (a + b + c = a + c).      
  - auto.                      
  - rewrite Hb0.               
    rewrite <- Plus.plus_assoc.
    reflexivity.
Qed.

We knew that a + b + c was a + c since b is zero. So we stated and used it to prove the original goal via cut tactic. Afterwards, we prove that this extra hypothesis that we used to prove the goal is also sound.

So, cut generates two sub-goals.

DONE replace

Replace a term with another term.

Generates two sub-goals and involves the following steps:

Goal                             
  forall n:nat,                  
    n + 0 = n.                   
Proof.                           
  intro n.                       
  replace (n+0) with (0+n).      
  - reflexivity.                 
  - simpl.                       
    induction n; try reflexivity.
    + simpl.                     
      rewrite <- IHn.
      reflexivity.               
Qed.

Here, we first considered 0 + n same as the n + 0 to prove the goal. Then we showed that both 0 + n and n + 0 are equivalent.

DONE remember

Give a name to an expression that you might need to use later on and add it to the set of hypotheses.

Goal                                    
  forall n m:nat, n + n + m = m + n + n.
Proof.                                  
  intros n m.                           
(*                                      
1 subgoal                               

n, m : nat                              

========================= (1 / 1)       

n + n + m = m + n + n                   
*)                                      
  remember (n+n) as n2.                 
(*                                      
1 subgoal                               

n, m, n2 : nat                          
Heqn2 : n2 = n + n                      

========================= (1 / 1)       

n2 + m = m + n + n                      
*)

To given an explicit name to the hypothesis generated by remember, we could've done:

remember (n+n) as n2 eqn:H.

Apparently, can't be used if the term appears in the goal. Once got this error: Conclusion depends on the bodies of Heqp (where Heqp would've been the new hypothesis).

DONE split

Can be used when the type has only one constructor.

Types like /\ (ie, and) or Streams.ForAll.

Goal
  forall p q:Prop, p = True -> q = True -> p /\ q.
Proof.
  intros p q Hp Hq.
(*
1 subgoal                                                     

p, q : Prop                                                   
Hp : p = True                                                 
Hq : q = True                                                 

========================= (1 / 1)                             

p /\ q                                                        
*)                                                            
  split.                                                      
(*                                                            
2 subgoals                                                    

p, q : Prop                                                   
Hp : p = True                                                 
Hq : q = True                                                 

========================= (1 / 2)                             

p                                                             

========================= (2 / 2)                             

q                                                             
*)                                                            
Print and.                                                    
(*                                                            
Inductive and (A B : Prop) : Prop :=  conj : A -> B -> A /\ B.
*)
Qed.

Another example:


DONE pose

Add a definition to the list of hypotheses.

Goal                              
  forall n:nat, n+0=n.            
Proof.                            
  intros n.                       
(*
1 subgoal

n : nat

========================= (1 / 1)

n + 0 = n
*)
  pose 3.                         
(*
1 subgoal

n : nat
n0 := 3 : nat

========================= (1 / 1)

n + 0 = n
*)

DONE contradiction

Sees if False can be derived from the list of hypotheses.

Goal
  forall p q:Prop, p /\ ~p -> q.
Proof.
  intros p q [Hp Hnp].
  unfold not in Hnp.
(*                                 
1 subgoal

p, q : Prop
Hp : p                             
Hnp : p -> False                   

========================= (1 / 1)  

q                                  
*)
  contradiction.                   
(*
0 subgoals

All goals completed.
*)
Qed.                               

DONE exfalso

Implements the "ex falso quodlibet" logical principle.

ie, if False is provable, any proposition can be proved.

an elimination of False is performed on the current goal, and the user is then required to prove that False is indeed provable in the current context.

Goal
  forall p q:Prop, p /\ ~p -> q.
Proof.                             
  intros p q [Hp Hnp].             
(*                                 
1 subgoal

p, q : Prop
Hp : p
Hnp : ~ p

========================= (1 / 1)

q
*)
  exfalso.                         
(*
1 subgoal

p, q : Prop
Hp : p
Hnp : ~ p

========================= (1 / 1)

False
*)
  apply (Hnp Hp).
Qed.

Here, upon applying exfalso, goal became False and now we have to derive False from the available hypotheses to complete the proof.

At least in this case, it's sort of similar to constradiction tactic.

DONE shelve and Unshelve

shelve can be used to Postpone current goal and proceed with the next goal.

Unshelve can be used to bring the shelved goal back.

Goal
  forall n:nat, n = 0 \/ n <> 0.
Proof.
  intros n.
  induction n.
(*
2 subgoals


========================= (1 / 2) 

0 = 0 \/ 0 <> 0                   

========================= (2 / 2) 

S n = 0 \/ S n <> 0               
*)                                
  shelve.                         
(*                                
1 subgoal                         
1 shelved                         

n : nat                           
IHn : n = 0 \/ n <> 0             

========================= (1 / 1) 

S n = 0 \/ S n <> 0               
*)                                
right; auto.                      
Unshelve.                         
left; auto.                       

If we try to end a proof when there are shelved goals remaining, we would get an error like this:

The proof has remaining shelved goals [remaining-shelved-goals,
tactics]

Some unresolved existential variables remain

CAUTION: Unshelve and unshelve are different tactics.

DONE give_up

'Give up' the goals which are currently in focus.

Given up goals cannot be brought back later and hence the proof cannot be ended.

Goal                    
  forall n:nat, n+0 = n.
Proof.                  
  intro n; induction n. 
  - auto.               
  - give_up.            
(*
0 subgoals
1 admitted

All goals completed.
*)

DONE transitivity

When we have

H1: a = b
H2: b = c

we can use the common term via transitivity tactic to find equality between the other two terms.

Example:

Goal forall a b c: nat,
  a = b -> b = c -> a = c.
Proof.
  intros a b c H1 H2.
(*
1 subgoal

A : Type
a, b, c : nat
H1 : a = b
H2 : b = c

========================= (1 / 1)

a = c
*)

  transitivity b.
(*
2 subgoals

A : Type
a, b, c : nat
H1 : a = b
H2 : b = c

========================= (1 / 2)

a = b

========================= (2 / 2)

b = c
*)
  all: assumption.
Qed.

DONE rename

Change name of a variable.

Goal forall a: nat,
  a = 0.
Proof.
  intro a.
  rename a into x.

TODO inversion

Among other things, can be used to prove that something which cannot be derived from the constructors of a type cannot be proven.

For example:

Inductive fooDenote : list nat -> Type := 
| FooDenote: fooDenote nil.               

Goal                              
  (* [fooDenote nil] is the only possible type.
     So any another fooDenote is not derivable *)
  fooDenote (cons 3 nil) -> False.
Proof.                            
  intros H.                       
  inversion H.
Qed.

Inversion is done on a hypothesis.

Special usage: inversion n where the nat refers to the nth hypothesis from the last.

TODO refine

Allows to leave holes in the proof that we can fill in later one by one.

Generates as many subgoals as the number of holes.

Quite helpful to allow us to focus on one thing at a time.

TODO constructor

Apply constructor once to break down the value.

For example, applying

Goal          
  1 <= 3.     
Proof.        
  constructor.
  constructor.
  constructor.
Qed.

TODO move

Change the order of hyotheses in the context.

Goal                                                   
  forall n:nat, 0 + n = n ->  n + 0 = n -> S n = n + 1.
Proof.                                                 
  intros n H1 H2.                                      
  move H1 after H2.                                    

TODO apply

Attempts to match current goal with conclusion of argument.

TODO case

An older, more basic version of destruct. Coq docs suggest using destruct instead.

Unlike destruct, case cannot modify local context (just like the relation between elim and induction).

TODO destruct

For case analysis.

Some use cases:

TODO congruence

Some level of automation.

TODO intros

A special use:

TODO lia

For inequalities.

Stands for 'linear integer arithmetic' ??

There was a sort of related tactic named omega, but this has now been removed from coq default installation.

Needs Require Import Lia.

TODO lra

Tacticals

https://coq.inria.fr/refman/proof-engine/ltac.html

TODO all:

Apply a tactic to all remaining goals

DONE repeat

Repeatedly apply a tactic to goal till end of proof or a failure.

Goal          
  1 <= 4.     
Proof.        
  constructor.
  constructor.
  constructor.
  constructor.
Qed.          

With repeat:

Goal          
  1 <= 4.     
Proof.        
  repeat constructor.
Qed.          

TODO first

Use the first tactic to succeed from among a list of tactics.

first [ left | right ]

Ltac1

Redefining a tactic

A tactic that has already been defined can be redefined using ::=.

Ltac left ::= right.                                                │~
(* Redefine [left] to mean the same as [right] *)

Misc

Description Example
Backtracking (OR) left + right
Branching left │ right

Ltac2

Ltac2 has an ML-style type system.

Doubts

Reference