An Interactive Program Verification System

Abstract

This paper is an initial progress report on the development of an interactive system for verifying that computer programs meet given formal specifications. The system is based on the conventional inductive assertion method: given a program and its specifications, the object is to generate the verification conditions, simplify them, and prove what remains. This system addresses two aspects of software improvement of extreme importance to the military: increase in the quality of software and decrease in the cost of producing high-quality software. A general description is given of the overall design philosophy, structure, and functional components of the system, and a simple sorting program is used to illustrate both the behavior of major system components and the type of user interaction the system provides.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 1974
Accession Number
ADA002279

Entities

People

  • Donald I. Good
  • Ralph L. London
  • W. W. Bledsoe

Organizations

  • University of Southern California

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Automatic
  • California
  • Computer Programming
  • Computer Programs
  • Computer Science
  • Computers
  • Contracts
  • Generators
  • Governments
  • Hypotheses
  • Information Science
  • Language
  • Programming Languages
  • Security
  • Specifications
  • United States
  • United States Government

Fields of Study

  • Computer science
  • Engineering

Readers

  • Software Engineering.
  • Systems Analysis and Design