Cambria: Resource Abstraction for Parametrized Algebraic Effects and Handlers

[2608.27798] Cambria: Resource Abstraction for Parametrized Algebraic Effects and Handlers Skip to main content Search Submit Donate Log in Computer Science > Programming Languages arXiv:2608.27798 (cs) [Submitted on 28 Aug 2026] Title: Cambria: Resource Abstraction for Parametrized Algebraic Effects and Handlers Authors: Jack Liell-Cock , Sam Staton View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract: The algebraic effects and handlers paradigm separates the concerns of the interface and implementation of computational effects in programming languages. We present Cambria, a language that extends this framework to the parametrized setting. Effect signatures may use abstract parameter types that are instantiated by the handler along with the operation implementations. Parameters abstract over resources, such as memory locations or thread IDs, permitting algebraic effects to encode dynamic allocation. They are first-class in the type system but erased at runtime, requiring no coercions or type-directed reduction. We prove parametricity via a step-indexed logical relation, formalizing the abstraction guarantee provided by parametrized handlers. We also establish type safety and classify the annotations needed for completeness of the type inference algorithm. We demonstrate Cambria's practicality with a working implementation and provide examples including local state, Pólya's urn, and concurrent thread management. The last is a parametrized effect whose abstract thread IDs are shared between concurrent computations, going beyond standard instances. Cambria is the first calculus with user-defined resource-allocating effects that guarantees, via parametricity, that client code cannot depend on how a handler represents its resources. Subjects: Programming Languages (cs.PL) Cite as: arXiv:2608.27798 [cs.PL] (or arXiv:2608.27798v1 [cs.PL] for this version) https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2608.27798 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite Submission history From: Jack Liell-Cock [ view email ] [v1] Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:29:48 UTC (51 KB) Full-text links: Access Paper: View PDF HTML (experimental) TeX Source view license Additional Features Audio Summary Current browse context: cs.PL < prev | next > new | recent | 2026-08 Change to browse by: cs References & Citations SciX Google Scholar Semantic Scholar export BibTeX citation Bookmark Bibliographic Tools Bibliographic and Citation Tools Bibliographic Explorer Toggle Bibliographic Explorer ( What is the Explorer? ) Connected Papers Toggle Connected Papers ( What is Connected Papers? ) Litmaps Toggle Litmaps ( What is Litmaps? ) scite.ai Toggle scite Smart Citations ( What are Smart Citations? ) Code, Data, Media Code, Data and Media Associated with this Article alphaXiv Toggle alphaXiv ( What is alphaXiv? ) Links to Code Toggle CatalyzeX Code Finder for Papers ( What is CatalyzeX? ) DagsHub Toggle DagsHub ( What is DagsHub? ) GotitPub Toggle Gotit.pub ( What is GotitPub? ) Huggingface Toggle Hugging Face ( What is Huggingface? ) ScienceCast Toggle ScienceCast ( What is ScienceCast? ) Demos Demos Replicate Toggle Replicate ( What is Replicate? ) Spaces Toggle Hugging Face Spaces ( What is Spaces? ) Spaces Toggle TXYZ.AI ( What is TXYZ.AI? ) Related Papers Recommenders and Search Tools Link to Influence Flower Influence Flower ( What are Influence Flowers? ) Core recommender toggle CORE Recommender ( What is CORE? ) Author Venue Institution Topic About arXivLabs arXivLabs: experimental projects with community collaborators arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website. Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them. Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs . Which authors of this paper are endorsers? | Disable MathJax ( What is MathJax? ) We gratefully acknowledge support from our major funders , member institutions , and all contributors. About · Help · Contact · Subscribe · Copyright · Privacy · Accessibility · Operational Status (opens in new tab)

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