[HN Gopher] The Hitchhiker's Guide to Logical Verification [pdf]...
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       The Hitchhiker's Guide to Logical Verification [pdf] (2023)
        
       Author : nextos
       Score  : 84 points
       Date   : 2024-07-30 17:51 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (browncs1951x.github.io)
 (TXT) w3m dump (browncs1951x.github.io)
        
       | layer8 wrote:
       | Actual source, which also provides an alternative PDF suitable
       | for smaller screens:
       | https://github.com/blanchette/logical_verification_2023
        
         | kragen wrote:
         | thanks! that version also doesn't have a license
        
       | nextos wrote:
       | Lean is quite nice, but last time I checked this was the only
       | software verification-oriented book. Anything else worth knowing?
       | 
       | Most work in Lean is geared towards mathematics, in contrast to
       | Isabelle and Coq. Actually, _The Hitchhiker 's Guide_ is a
       | rewrite of _Concrete Semantics_ (Isabelle).
       | 
       |  _Concrete Semantics_ is really worth checking out too:
       | http://concrete-semantics.org/concrete-semantics.pdf
       | 
       | I'm optimistic about LLMs in this context, as I think they will
       | reduce the cost of formal methods making them much more
       | practical.
        
         | didericis wrote:
         | > Anything else worth knowing?
         | 
         | K framework
         | 
         | https://runtimeverification.com/blog/k-framework-an-overview
        
           | nextos wrote:
           | Thanks, I meant other Lean resources. This is also
           | interesting, though.
        
           | steego wrote:
           | K Framework is very interesting.
           | 
           | On its surface, you could say it's a language and toolset for
           | language designers to implement languages and construct
           | formal proofs of your language's semantics.
           | 
           | The underlying semantics for this language is based on
           | something called matching logic, which defines a system of
           | logic, not for true and false statements, but pattern
           | matching expressions where true corresponds to "matches
           | everything" and false corresponds to "match nothing".
           | 
           | There's even a Lean proof for matching logic.
           | 
           | https://gitlab.com/ilds/aml-lean/MatchingLogic
           | 
           | Also, it seems like matching logic is able to subsume so many
           | other systems of logic:
           | 
           | https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matching_logic
           | 
           | The craziest part of K Framework is how so many of the
           | fundamentals ideas go back to the 70s in a language called
           | OBJ.
           | 
           | What you have to understand is OBJ was this language was
           | inspired by the collaboration and lifetime friendship between
           | Rod Burstall and Joe Goguen, who was a category theorist
           | working on defining algebraic data types.
           | 
           | They laid the foundation to create a formal specification
           | language, that let you construct abstract data types,
           | mathematical objects, systems of logic and domain specific
           | languages in a REPL environment. They also formalized what a
           | system of logic was in category theory and then used THAT as
           | the semantic foundation for their new language.
           | 
           | OBJ influenced all sorts of languages like ML, C++, Haskell,
           | Coq, and even the Lean language itself.
           | 
           | So when I say K Framework has roots, those roots really go
           | back to a family of logic based languages that have been
           | living in relative obscurity for decades, but is now finding
           | itself well positioned to solve many new interesting
           | applications.
           | 
           | IMO, OBJ and Maude (based on OBJ) are like the Lisps of
           | category theory based languages, especially after looking at
           | how Maude is defined in Maude.
           | 
           | Sorry for the long post. I've been exploring this history for
           | months and I'm still floored by OBJ.
        
             | didericis wrote:
             | > Sorry for the long post.
             | 
             | No need at all. I'm very interested in this area too, but
             | didn't know all the OBJ lore. I got into this kind of thing
             | after learning about Hilbert's program, which goes all the
             | way back to the late 1800s. The history of formal logic in
             | general is incredibly deep/very very interesting.
        
               | steego wrote:
               | It really is and I'm glad you appreciated it.
               | 
               | I love these stories and how you can show the lasting
               | impact that these very direct and personal influences had
               | on the tools we use today.
               | 
               | I recently learned that Burstall met Peter Landin and
               | Christopher Strachey through this underground study group
               | forms by a gentleman named Mervyn Pragnell, who skulked
               | around in book shops so he could invite people who were
               | reading books on logic to his group where they would
               | study lambda calculus together.
               | 
               | To think a meetup organizer in the early 60s had this
               | lasting impact that carries to today.
        
               | 082349872349872 wrote:
               | _Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth_ (2009) hints that
               | pushing formal logic forward may be as attractive, yet
               | dangerous, for mental health as ascending Everest without
               | supplemental O2 is for physical:                 Weave a
               | circle round them thrice,       And close your eyes with
               | holy dread       For they on honey-dew hath fed,
               | And drunk the milk of Paradise.
        
         | nickpsecurity wrote:
         | Building High Integrity Applications with SPARK
         | 
         | https://www.amazon.com/Building-High-Integrity-Applications-...
         | 
         | That will be more practical than most works on formal
         | verification.
        
           | LiamPowell wrote:
           | Also: https://www.adacore.com/books/implementation-guidance-
           | spark
        
       | FranklinChen wrote:
       | There's also a 2024 edition
       | https://github.com/blanchette/interactive_theorem_proving_20...
        
       | ChrisArchitect wrote:
       | (2023)
       | 
       | Official link: https://lean-forward.github.io/hitchhikers-
       | guide/2023/
        
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       (page generated 2024-07-31 23:02 UTC)