Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A relational approach to the design of deterministic programs

  • Published:
Acta Informatica Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

Deterministic programs are rules for functions; their specifications are relations. Designing a program to meet a specification (relation) R amounts to determining a function that meets some consistency requirement with R. This problem becomes more complex when relation R is complex, hence the potential need to decompose relation R. Complex relations can be built from simpler relations by relative product, union or transitive closure; hence complex relations (specifications) can be decomposed into simpler ones by writing them as a relative product, a union or a transitive closure of simpler ones. These decomposition strategies correspond to the traditional programming language constructs of sequence (;), alternative (if-then-else) and iteration (while-do). This paper presents relational decomposition rules and discusses their validity and significance.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Manna, Z., Waldinger, R.: The Logic of Computer Programming. IEEE-TSE SE-4(3) 199–229 (1978)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Mills, H.D.: The New Math of Computer Programming. CACM 18(1) 43–48 (1975)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Mills, H.D., Austing, R.H., Basili, V.R., Gannon, J.D., Hamlet, R.G., Kohl, J.E., Schniederman, B.: The Calculus of Computer Programming, Vol. I. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon (to appear)

  4. Morris, J.H., Wegbreit, B.: Program Verification by Subgoal Induction. Current Trends in Programming Methodology, Vol II, Chapter 8. Yeh, R.T. (ed.). New York: Prentice-Hall, 1977.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Tarski, A.: On The Calculus of Relations. The Journal of Symbolic Logic, 6(3), 73–89 (1941)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département d'Informatique, Université Laval, G1K 7 P4, Quebec City, Qué, Canada

    Ali Mili

Authors
  1. Ali Mili
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

This research is supported by the Research Council of Canada under grant number A 2509

Also McGill University in Montreal, Canada

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Mili, A. A relational approach to the design of deterministic programs. Acta Informatica 20, 315–328 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00264277

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00264277

Keywords

Search

Navigation