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Proof Pearl: Mechanizing the Textbook Proof of Huffman’s Algorithm

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Abstract

Huffman’s algorithm is a procedure for constructing a binary tree with minimum weighted path length. Our Isabelle/HOL proof closely follows the sketches found in standard algorithms textbooks, uncovering a few snags in the process. Another distinguishing feature of our formalization is the use of custom induction rules to help Isabelle’s automatic tactics, leading to very short proofs for most of the lemmas.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Informatik, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany

    Jasmin Christian Blanchette

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  1. Jasmin Christian Blanchette
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Correspondence to Jasmin Christian Blanchette.

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This work was supported by the DFG grant NI 491/11-1.

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Blanchette, J.C. Proof Pearl: Mechanizing the Textbook Proof of Huffman’s Algorithm. J Autom Reasoning 43, 1–18 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10817-009-9116-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10817-009-9116-y

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