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Explaining Verification Conditions

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Algebraic Methodology and Software Technology (AMAST 2008)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNPSE,volume 5140))

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Abstract

Hoare-style program verification relies on the construction and discharge of verification conditions (VCs) but offers no support to trace, analyze, and understand the VCs themselves. We describe a systematic extension of the Hoare rules by labels so that the calculus itself can be used to build up explanations of the VCs. The labels are maintained through the different processing steps and rendered as natural language explanations. The generated explanations are based only on an analysis of the labels rather than directly on the logical meaning of the underlying VCs or their proofs. The explanations can be customized to capture different aspects of the VCs; here, we focus on labelings that explain their structure and purpose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NASA Ames Research Center, USRA/RIACS, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA

    Ewen Denney

  2. DSSE Group, School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, UK

    Bernd Fischer

Authors
  1. Ewen Denney
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  2. Bernd Fischer
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José Meseguer Grigore Roşu

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© 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Denney, E., Fischer, B. (2008). Explaining Verification Conditions. In: Meseguer, J., Roşu, G. (eds) Algebraic Methodology and Software Technology. AMAST 2008. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 5140. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-79980-1_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-79980-1_12

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-79979-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-79980-1

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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