Please see the question here:
https://proofassistants.stackexchange.com/questions/2030/why-are-modules-also-rings-in-the-hol-algebra-library
I vaguely remember that there was some problem with records not being flexible enough. Probably that you don't have multiple inheritance.
In any case it's important to distinguish the representation (the record) from the semantics (the locales group/ring/module).
The representation is indeed awkward and HOL-Algebra is generally a bit old-fashioned and not in a great state.
There is a newer algebra library in the AFP that was first made by Clemens Ballarin as an experiment and then developed more by @Anthony Bordg and others, but I think there is still a lot missing there.
Generally, people just haven't been as interested in doing abstract algebra in Isabelle as e.g. analysis/number theory and it's not 100% clear what the best way to do it is.
Last updated: Dec 21 2024 at 16:20 UTC