Recent Advancements in Hardware Verification — How to Make Theorem Proving Fit for an Industrial Usage

Abstract

One of the predominant applications of formal methods including theorem proving is the verification of both software and hardware. However, whereas software verification must still be considered mainly as an academic exercise, hardware verification has become an established technique in industry. Commercial hardware verification tools are available from leading EDA (electronic design automation) tool vendors and are an essential part of many established digital design flows. This contrasts to the fact that software verification has been an ongoing research topic for a considerably longer time compared to activities in hardware verification.

Where does this difference in acceptance come from? The key components for a new approach to be successful in practice are: a suitable theoretical foundation, the existence of tools, the acceptance of the target users, a smooth integration into existent work flows as well as the applicability to real-world examples, together leading to a measurable productivity increase. Undoubtedly, the simplicity of the theories necessary for many tasks in hardware verification, i.e., propositional logic and finite state machines, justify a good part of its success. The available decision procedures allow fully automated tools which can be easily used also by non-logicians.