Proof in VDM: A Practitioner’s Guide

This manual examines the practical aspects of using and constructing proofs in the specification and development of computing systems. The reader is guided through the elements of proof construction with the help of numerous worked examples. The techniques can be applied to specification and development in a range of formalisms, and are illustrated using the logic and the basic data types of the VDM specification language. The construction of theorems and proofs from actual specifications and refinements is also described, and a detailed case study, including several refinement steps, shows how formal proofs can be used in practice. In addition, the book contains a directory of axioms and formally proved theorems.