Computational Higher Type Theory IV: Inductive Types (1801.01568v3)

Abstract: This is the fourth in a series of papers extending Martin-L\"of's meaning explanation of dependent type theory to higher-dimensional types. In this installment, we show how to define cubical type systems supporting a general schema of indexed cubical inductive types whose constructors may take dimension parameters and have a specified boundary. Using this schema, we are able to specify and implement many of the higher inductive types which have been postulated in homotopy type theory, including homotopy pushouts, the torus, $W$-quotients, truncations, arbitrary localizations. By including indexed inductive types, we enable the definition of identity types. The addition of higher inductive types makes computational higher type theory a model of homotopy type theory, capable of interpreting almost all of the constructions in the HoTT Book (with the exception of inductive-inductive types). This is the first such model with an explicit canonicity theorem, which specifies the canonical values of higher inductive types and confirms that every term in an inductive type evaluates to such a value.