Decompose, Structure, and Repair: A Neuro-Symbolic Framework for Autoformalization via Operator Trees
Pith reviewed 2026-05-10 02:46 UTC · model grok-4.3
The pith
A neuro-symbolic framework improves autoformalization by mapping statements to operator trees for targeted error repair.
A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.
Core claim
DSR restructures autoformalization into a modular pipeline that decomposes natural-language statements into logical components, maps them to structured operator trees as a topological blueprint, and leverages sub-tree refinement to precisely localize and repair errors in the generated formal code, achieving new state-of-the-art results on the PRIME benchmark of 156 undergraduate and graduate-level theorems.
What carries the argument
Operator trees, which represent the hierarchical logic of mathematical statements and serve as a blueprint for localizing errors and performing sub-tree refinement during repair.
If this is right
- Treating formal code as hierarchical structures rather than flat sequences improves accuracy in translating natural language mathematics.
- Error localization and repair become more precise when guided by the topological structure of operator trees.
- Modular neuro-symbolic pipelines can outperform end-to-end large language models on formalization tasks under fixed resource limits.
- The PRIME benchmark of annotated Lean 4 theorems provides a standardized way to measure progress on this task.
Where Pith is reading between the lines
- The tree-based decomposition may apply to other structured reasoning domains where logical hierarchy matters, such as proof generation.
- Public release of the benchmark and models could let others test whether the same structure helps scale to more advanced theorems.
- If operator trees capture essential mathematical topology, hybrid systems might combine this repair step with larger generative models for broader coverage.
Load-bearing premise
That mapping natural-language statements to structured operator trees enables precise localization and repair of errors via sub-tree refinement.
What would settle it
A head-to-head evaluation on the PRIME benchmark where DSR fails to produce higher formalization success rates than sequence-based baselines when both use the same computational budget.
Figures
read the original abstract
Statement autoformalization acts as a critical bridge between human mathematics and formal mathematics by translating natural language problems into formal language. While prior works have focused on data synthesis and diverse training paradigms to optimize end-to-end Large Language Models (LLMs), they typically treat formal code as flat sequences, neglecting the hierarchical logic inherent in mathematical statements. In this work, we introduce Decompose, Structure, and Repair (DSR), a neuro-symbolic framework that restructures autoformalization into a modular pipeline. DSR decomposes statements into logical components and maps them to structured operator trees, leveraging this topological blueprint to precisely localize and repair errors via sub-tree refinement. Furthermore, we introduce PRIME, a benchmark of 156 undergraduate and graduate-level theorems selected from canonical textbooks and expertly annotated in Lean 4. Experimental results demonstrate that DSR establishes a new state-of-the-art, consistently outperforming baselines under equivalent computational budgets. The datasets, model, and code will be released to the public soon.
Editorial analysis
A structured set of objections, weighed in public.
Referee Report
Summary. The paper introduces Decompose, Structure, and Repair (DSR), a neuro-symbolic framework for statement autoformalization. It decomposes natural-language mathematical statements into logical components, maps them to hierarchical operator trees, and performs error localization and repair via sub-tree refinement. The authors also present the PRIME benchmark (156 undergraduate/graduate theorems from canonical textbooks, annotated in Lean 4) and claim that DSR achieves new state-of-the-art performance, consistently outperforming baselines under equivalent computational budgets.
Significance. If the operator-tree repair mechanism can be shown to drive the reported gains, the work would meaningfully advance autoformalization by exploiting hierarchical structure instead of treating formal code as flat sequences. The introduction of the PRIME benchmark is a clear positive contribution that could serve as a reusable evaluation resource. However, the absence of ablations isolating the tree-based repair step substantially weakens the ability to assess the framework's true impact or novelty relative to decomposition and prompting alone.
major comments (3)
- [§4] §4 (Experimental Results) and abstract: the SOTA claim and outperformance under equivalent budgets are presented only as aggregate success rates on PRIME. No ablation removing the sub-tree refinement step, no quantitative localization accuracy, and no before/after examples of operator-tree edits are supplied, so it is impossible to attribute gains specifically to the topological repair mechanism rather than the initial decomposition or richer prompting.
- [§3.2] §3.2 (Operator Tree Construction and Repair): the central assertion that operator trees enable 'precise localization and repair of errors via sub-tree refinement' is load-bearing for the framework's novelty, yet the manuscript provides neither formal definition of the repair operator nor empirical verification (e.g., success rate of localization or edit distance before/after repair).
- [Table 1] Table 1 (or equivalent results table): without reported standard deviations, multiple random seeds, or controlled budget-matched comparisons that hold the LLM and prompt fixed while varying only the tree-repair component, the 'consistent outperformance' claim cannot be evaluated for statistical robustness.
minor comments (3)
- The abstract states that 'datasets, model, and code will be released to the public soon'; a concrete timeline or repository link would strengthen reproducibility claims.
- [§3] An illustrative example showing a natural-language statement, its operator-tree decomposition, the detected error subtree, and the repaired formal statement would greatly improve clarity of the pipeline in §3.
- Minor notation inconsistency: the term 'operator trees' is introduced without an explicit recursive definition or grammar; adding one would aid readers unfamiliar with the representation.
Simulated Author's Rebuttal
We thank the referee for the constructive and detailed review. We appreciate the recognition of the PRIME benchmark as a positive contribution and the potential significance of the operator-tree approach for advancing autoformalization. We respond point-by-point to the major comments below, acknowledging where additional evidence is needed and outlining specific revisions to address the concerns.
read point-by-point responses
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Referee: [§4] §4 (Experimental Results) and abstract: the SOTA claim and outperformance under equivalent budgets are presented only as aggregate success rates on PRIME. No ablation removing the sub-tree refinement step, no quantitative localization accuracy, and no before/after examples of operator-tree edits are supplied, so it is impossible to attribute gains specifically to the topological repair mechanism rather than the initial decomposition or richer prompting.
Authors: We agree that the current presentation of aggregate results limits the ability to isolate the contribution of sub-tree refinement. The manuscript reports performance under equivalent computational budgets but does not include the requested ablation, localization metrics, or edit examples. In the revised version we will add an ablation study that removes the repair step while keeping decomposition and prompting fixed, report quantitative localization accuracy, and include concrete before/after operator-tree edit examples to directly attribute gains to the repair mechanism. revision: yes
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Referee: [§3.2] §3.2 (Operator Tree Construction and Repair): the central assertion that operator trees enable 'precise localization and repair of errors via sub-tree refinement' is load-bearing for the framework's novelty, yet the manuscript provides neither formal definition of the repair operator nor empirical verification (e.g., success rate of localization or edit distance before/after repair).
Authors: We will add a formal definition of the repair operator, including its inputs, outputs, and sub-tree refinement procedure, to Section 3.2. We will also include empirical verification consisting of localization success rates and average edit distances before versus after repair, computed on the PRIME benchmark, to substantiate the claim that operator trees enable precise error localization and repair. revision: yes
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Referee: [Table 1] Table 1 (or equivalent results table): without reported standard deviations, multiple random seeds, or controlled budget-matched comparisons that hold the LLM and prompt fixed while varying only the tree-repair component, the 'consistent outperformance' claim cannot be evaluated for statistical robustness.
Authors: We acknowledge that statistical robustness requires standard deviations and controlled comparisons. The revised manuscript will report mean success rates with standard deviations over at least three random seeds. We will further add a controlled experiment that holds the underlying LLM and prompt template fixed while varying only the presence of the tree-repair component, thereby providing direct evidence of its incremental contribution under matched budgets. revision: yes
Circularity Check
No circularity: empirical framework with new benchmark and aggregate comparisons
full rationale
The paper introduces a modular neuro-symbolic pipeline (decompose to operator trees, then repair) and evaluates it on a newly constructed PRIME benchmark of 156 theorems. Claims of SOTA performance rest on reported success rates versus baselines under matched budgets, not on any internal derivation, fitted parameter renamed as prediction, or self-citation chain that reduces the result to its own inputs. No equations, uniqueness theorems, or ansatzes are presented that loop back by construction. The absence of ablations or localization metrics is a limitation of evidence strength, not a circularity in the claimed derivation.
Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger
axioms (1)
- domain assumption Mathematical statements can be decomposed into logical components that map to hierarchical operator trees.
invented entities (2)
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Operator trees
no independent evidence
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PRIME benchmark
no independent evidence
Reference graph
Works this paper leans on
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[1]
Cunningham, G., Bunescu, R., and Juedes, D
URL https://openreview.net/forum? id=s9t2FJVsBH. Cunningham, G., Bunescu, R., and Juedes, D. Towards autoformalization of mathematics and code correctness: Experiments with elementary proofs. In Ferreira, D., Valentino, M., Freitas, A., Welleck, S., and Schubotz, M. (eds.),Proceedings of the 1st Workshop on Mathe- matical Natural Language Processing (Math...
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A cluster separa- tion measure,
URL https://openreview.net/forum? id=Z2El1U94bq. Kristianto, G. Y ., Topic, G., and Aizawa, A. Mcat math retrieval system for ntcir-12 mathir task. InNTCIR, 2016. 9 Decompose, Structure, and Repair: A Neuro-Symbolic Framework for Autoformalization via Operator Trees Li, C., Ma, W., Wang, Z., and Wen, Z. Sita: A framework for structure-to-instance theorem ...
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[3]
emnlp-main.233/
URL https://aclanthology.org/2024. emnlp-main.233/. Zhang, M., Borchert, P., Gritta, M., and Lampouras, G. DRIFT: Decompose, retrieve, illustrate, then formalize theorems. InThe Fourteenth International Conference on Learning Representations, 2026. URL https:// openreview.net/forum?id=IGEs577RFz. Zhong, W. and Zanibbi, R. Structural similarity search for ...
2024
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[4]
,→ (m n :N) ✓Fix: ReplaceZ+withN
Component-Level Repair (m n :Z +) ×Error: Nonnegative integers should beN. ,→ (m n :N) ✓Fix: ReplaceZ+withN
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[5]
,→ o = m ✓(Partial) Fix: remove application to satisfy parser/typechecker locally
Subcomponent-Level Repair o g = m ×Error: ‘Order’ is not defined asoin Mathlib. ,→ o = m ✓(Partial) Fix: remove application to satisfy parser/typechecker locally. (Semantically wrong; fixed globally later.)
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[6]
,→ orderOf h = n ✓Fix: useorderOffor element order in Mathlib
Component-Level Repair o h = n ×Error: ‘Order’ is not defined asoin Mathlib. ,→ orderOf h = n ✓Fix: useorderOffor element order in Mathlib
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[7]
,→ orderOf (g ˆ n * h ˆ m) = Nat.lcm m n / Nat.gcd m n ✓Fix: replace the informal order notationo(·)byorderOf
Component-Level Repair o (g ˆ n * h ˆ m) = Nat.lcm m n / Nat.gcd m n ×Error: ‘Order’ is not defined asoin Mathlib. ,→ orderOf (g ˆ n * h ˆ m) = Nat.lcm m n / Nat.gcd m n ✓Fix: replace the informal order notationo(·)byorderOf
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[8]
×Issue: hypothesis became ill-formed semantically after local patch; it no longer states the order ofg
Statement-Level Repair ...(h2 : o = m) ... ×Issue: hypothesis became ill-formed semantically after local patch; it no longer states the order ofg. ,→ (h2 : orderOf g = m) ✓Fix: restore intended meaningo(g) =musingorderOf g. Consistency check passed. Final Verified Code: theorem test [Group G] (g h : G) (m n :N) (h1 : g * h = h * g) (h2 : orderOf g = m) (h...
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[9]
,→ [SeminormedAddCommGroup V] [InnerProductSpaceCV] ✓Fix: Add instance ‘SeminormedAddCommGroup’
Subcomponent-Level Repair [InnerProductSpaceCV] ×Error: Failed to synthesize SeminormedAddCommGroup V . ,→ [SeminormedAddCommGroup V] [InnerProductSpaceCV] ✓Fix: Add instance ‘SeminormedAddCommGroup’
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,→ algebraMapR C ✓Fix:Cis an algebra overR, not the converse
Subcomponent-Level Repair algebraMapC R ×Error: Failed to synthesize algebraMapC R. ,→ algebraMapR C ✓Fix:Cis an algebra overR, not the converse
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[11]
,→ T star : Module.EndCV ×Failed: Error is caused by the definition of adjoint map, not the type ofT star
Subcomponent-Level Repair T star ×Error: T star is undefined. ,→ T star : Module.EndCV ×Failed: Error is caused by the definition of adjoint map, not the type ofT star
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[12]
,→ T = star T
(Parent) Subcomponent-Level Repair T = T star↔ ∀(eigenvalue :C), (∃(v : V), v̸=0∧T v = eigenvalue·v)→ eigenvalue∈Set.range (algebraMapR C) ×Error: T star is undefined. ,→ T = star T ... ×Failed:star Tis not the adjoint map in Mathlib
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[13]
(Parent) Component-Level Repair ∀(V : Type *) [SeminormedAddCommGroup V] [InnerProductSpaceCV] (T : Module.EndCV), T * T star = T star * T→(T = T star↔ ∀(eigenvalue :C), (∃(v : V), v̸=0∧T v = eigenvalue·v)→eigenvalue∈Set.range (algebraMapR C)) ×Error: T star is undefined. ,→ ... T = adjoint T ... ×Failed: The namespaceLinearMapis omitted
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[14]
T * T star = T star * T→(T = T star↔...) ×Error: T star is undefined
Statement-Level Repair ... T * T star = T star * T→(T = T star↔...) ×Error: T star is undefined. ,→ ...T * LinearMap.adjoint T = LinearMap.adjoint T * T→(T = LinearMap.adjoint T↔...) ✓Fix: Add the namespace and replace allT starwithLinearMap.adjoint T. Consistency check passed. Final Verified Code: theorem test :∀(V : Type *) [NormedAddCommGroup V] [Inner...
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,→ (Complex.abs k = 1∧z̸=1) ✓Fix: Add namespace ‘Complex’
Subcomponent-Level Repair (abs k = 1∧z̸=1) ×Error: Function ‘abs’ not found in scope. ,→ (Complex.abs k = 1∧z̸=1) ✓Fix: Add namespace ‘Complex’
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,→ Summable fun n :N=> zˆ(n + 1) / (n + 1) ✓Fix: n + 1 can never be zero
Statement-Level Repair Summable fun n :N=> zˆn / n ×Error: The seriesP zn n is undefined atn= 0, causing a division by zero. ,→ Summable fun n :N=> zˆ(n + 1) / (n + 1) ✓Fix: n + 1 can never be zero. Consistency check passed. Final Verified Code: theorem test:∀z :C, (Complex.abs z = 1∧z̸=1)→Summable fun n :N=> zˆ(n + 1) / (n + 1) := by sorry Figure 8.The m...
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Compared to written expressions, give priority to mathematical expressions (LaTeX format)
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Do not add extra information or interpret beyond the given content
Translate each line as a whole, with each translation on a separate line ( −−>format). Do not add extra information or interpret beyond the given content
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If the binder declares a variable (for example, ‘a‘) to be a type, simply write ’Let a be a type’
Always translate the binders one−by−one, even if some of the binders can be merged in natural language. If the binder declares a variable (for example, ‘a‘) to be a type, simply write ’Let a be a type’
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If the formal conclusion is a sequence of curried chain, you can start with ’If’, and then stating the binders one−by −one in the curried chain, finally give the theorem statement
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If the input formal conditions are NULL, simply state the informal conditions as ’No conditions’. # Output Format Please present your response in the following structured format: **Informal Conditions:** **Informal Conclusion:** # Example # Input Data **Formal Conditions:** {a b c :R} (h : a * b * c = 1) (haux : 1 + a + a * b̸=0) **Formal Conclusion:** a ...
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Only structure the statements
Do Not Solve: Do not attempt to prove or solve the problem. Only structure the statements
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Formalize Logic Only: Express each condition and conclusion using concise LaTeX−style mathematical notation
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− Do NOT use phrases such as ”i.e.”, ”that is”, ”in other words”, ”namely”, or similar
No Redundant Rephrasing: − Do NOT explain, restate, or paraphrase a condition in words after giving a formula. − Do NOT use phrases such as ”i.e.”, ”that is”, ”in other words”, ”namely”, or similar. − Each condition must be stated exactly once, in its most direct mathematical form
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− Avoid prose descriptions like ”is an infinite sequence”; use quantifiers instead
Explicit Quantifiers: − All variables must be explicitly quantified (e.g., $\forall n\in\mathbb{N}$). − Avoid prose descriptions like ”is an infinite sequence”; use quantifiers instead
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− Each condition should represent a single logical fact
Atomic Conditions: − Split compound statements into separate numbered conditions when possible. − Each condition should represent a single logical fact
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− Do NOT add explanatory remarks about why they are needed
Implicit Conditions: − Include standard domain constraints only if they are mathematically necessary. − Do NOT add explanatory remarks about why they are needed
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− Avoid any natural language explanation beyond the formula itself
Minimality: − Prefer the shortest mathematically complete formulation. − Avoid any natural language explanation beyond the formula itself
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If the input problem statement contains only a conclusion and no conditions, state: **Conditions:** No conditions
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Quantifier Classification Rule: − A quantified statement belongs to Conditions if and only if it restricts already−given objects and does not introduce any predicate whose truth is to be established. − If a universal quantifier governs a statement expressing divisibility, equality, inequality, or any nontrivial property, it MUST appear in the Conclusion a...
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− Variables introduced by explicit quantifiers (∀,∃) MUST be declared only within their quantified statements and MUST NOT be separately declared as conditions
Free Variable and Implicit Type Declaration Completion: − Every variable that appears free (i.e., not bound by∀or∃) in any condition or conclusion MUST be explicitly declared with a domain or type. − Variables introduced by explicit quantifiers (∀,∃) MUST be declared only within their quantified statements and MUST NOT be separately declared as conditions...
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”$A\subset X$” (type/membership declaration)
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”$A\subsetneq X$” (property condition) − All such free−variable and type declarations MUST be included as **Conditions** and MUST appear before all other non−declaration conditions
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such that ...”, ”There exists
Existential Quantifier Preservation: − If the input problem statement is of the form ”Find ... such that ...”, ”There exists ... such that ...”, or otherwise asserts existence, the Conclusion MUST be a single existentially quantified formula. − Do NOT place existentially quantified variables as separate domain declarations in Conditions.− Do NOT split an ...
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− Do NOT omit or move universal quantifiers to Conditions; they must remain bound to their predicates in the Conclusion
Universal Quantifier Preservation: − If the input problem statement asserts that a property holds for all elements of a certain domain (e.g., ”for all ...”, ” any ...”, ”every ...”), the Conclusion MUST include the universal quantifier explicitly. − Do NOT omit or move universal quantifiers to Conditions; they must remain bound to their predicates in the ...
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− Do NOT merge multiple facts or properties into a single condition, even if they appear in the same sentence in natural language
Atomic Condition Enforcement for Lean Formalization: − When extracting conditions from natural language statements, each condition MUST contain **only one atomic fact**. − Do NOT merge multiple facts or properties into a single condition, even if they appear in the same sentence in natural language. − Each atomic fact should be expressed as a separate num...
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**Important Note:** The **Conclusion** section must always be a **single line**
**Conclusion:** − ... **Important Note:** The **Conclusion** section must always be a **single line**. Do NOT split the conclusion into multiple numbered lines or separate statements. All predicates, quantifiers, and logical connectors related to the conclusion must be combined into this one line. −−− Now, perform the task for the following Input Data. **...
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Your output will be programmatically used to strictly replace it
Scope Consistency (CRITICAL): The ‘Broken Code‘ is a strict substring (an expression). Your output will be programmatically used to strictly replace it. − Output ONLY the expression. Do NOT add ‘def‘, ‘let‘, ‘have‘, ‘theorem‘, or assignment symbols (‘:=‘). − Do NOT output the surrounding code. If the input is ‘MulAction.orbitRel G H‘, do not return ‘(h1 :...
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− Explicit/Implicit Arguments: Check if you need to make an argument explicit (using ‘@‘) or if you provided an explicit argument where an implicit one was expected
Type−Driven Repair: Since there is no informal text, rely on Mathlib signatures and Type Theory: − Argument Order: Check if the function expects arguments in a different order. − Explicit/Implicit Arguments: Check if you need to make an argument explicit (using ‘@‘) or if you provided an explicit argument where an implicit one was expected. − Coercions: C...
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Analyze the Current Error: Examine the ‘message‘ and ‘position‘ to identify if the issue is a Type Mismatch, Unknown Identifier, or Synthesis Failure
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# Output Format Please present your response in the following structured format and do not include conversational filler
Summarize: Write only a single sentence describing why the code failed (useful for classification). # Output Format Please present your response in the following structured format and do not include conversational filler. **Error Reason:** <One−sentence summary, keep it as simple as possible> **Corrected Code Snippet:** <The fixed expression ONLY.> −−− No...
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Your output will be programmatically used to strictly replace the ‘Broken Code‘ string
**Scope Consistency (CRITICAL):** The ‘Broken Code‘ is a strictly defined substring of a larger file. Your output will be programmatically used to strictly replace the ‘Broken Code‘ string. − Do NOT output the full theorem if the input was only a signature or a hypothesis. − Do NOT include surrounding keywords (like ‘theorem‘, ‘example‘, ‘:=‘, or ‘by‘) un...
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Ensure the fix preserves the intended logic for that specific context
Semantic Alignment: Compare the ‘Broken Code‘ against the ‘Informal Component‘. Ensure the fix preserves the intended logic for that specific context
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− If there is a type mismatch, check the ‘Informal Component‘ to decide whether to cast/coerce variables or change the type definition
Analyze the Current Error: Examine the ‘message‘ and ‘position‘ in the Error Message to pinpoint the exact failure (e.g., incorrect syntax, type mismatch, unknown identifier). − If there is a type mismatch, check the ‘Informal Component‘ to decide whether to cast/coerce variables or change the type definition
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Check Context: Verify if the variables used are consistent with the ‘Previously Declared Variables‘ (If any)
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# Output Format Please present your response in the following structured format and do not include conversational filler
Summarize: Write only a single sentence describing why the code failed (useful for classification). # Output Format Please present your response in the following structured format and do not include conversational filler. **Error Reason:** <One−sentence summary, keep it as simple as possible> **Corrected Code Snippet:** <The fixed code snippet ONLY.> −−− ...
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− Ensure the fix results in valid Lean 4 syntax
**Analyze the Error Signal (CRITICAL BRANCHING):** **CASE A: ‘Error Message‘ is PRESENT:** − Focus primarily on fixing the reported syntax or type error (e.g., ”unknown identifier”, ”type mismatch”). − Ensure the fix results in valid Lean 4 syntax. **CASE B: ‘Error Message‘ is EMPTY/NULL:** − STOP DEBUGGING SYNTAX. The code already compiles. − Focus ONLY ...
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Ensure the fixed code preserves the intended logic (quantifiers, implications, types) rather than just satisfying the compiler by changing the meaning
Semantic Alignment: Compare the ‘Broken Statement‘ against the ‘Informal Statement‘. Ensure the fixed code preserves the intended logic (quantifiers, implications, types) rather than just satisfying the compiler by changing the meaning
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Do not add any ‘import‘ statements ( assume Mathlib is present)
Apply Minimal Fixes: Correct the code only at the source of the error. Do not add any ‘import‘ statements ( assume Mathlib is present)
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# Output Format Please present your response in the following structured format and do not include conversational filler
Summarize: Write only a single sentence describing why the code failed (useful for classification). # Output Format Please present your response in the following structured format and do not include conversational filler. **Error Reason:** <One−sentence summary, keep it as simple as possible> **Corrected Formal Statement:** <The fixed formal statement (th...
discussion (0)
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