Software Verification

Course Objectives

After completing the course, I expect students will have

• Mastered essential aspects of programming and proof in the theorem prover Coq
• Gained experience applying PL tools — operational semantics, denotational semantics, Hoare logic — to model and prove properties of software systems
• Understood the basics of type systems, type theory, and lambda calculi
• Gained familiarity with other aspects of programming languages theory, including the pi calculus and elementary domain theory

Textbooks and Software

The primary text is Software Foundations by Pierce et al., a software verification and programming languages course available free and online. Before the first day of class, I encourage you to download and install the Coq proof assistant (version 8.4, not 8.5!), the tool upon which Software Foundations is based.

Two IDEs for Coq are available, the Emacs-based ProofGeneral and CoqIDE (bundled with Coq). I recommend CoqIDE for new Coq users (this is also the IDE we'll be using in class); ProofGeneral is good but requires more setup and some Emacs experience.

Periodically I may assign additional supplementary (optional but recommended) readings from Types and Programming Languages, Benjamin Pierce, and from The Formal Semantics of Programming Languages, Glynn Winskel. Both of these books are available on Amazon.

Prerequisites

Some mathematical maturity (at the level of "I've seen and done proofs before"), facility with a couple different programming languages, and a desire to learn.

Course Structure

The course consists of twice-weekly lectures (Mondays and Wednesdays) and a weekly lab (Fridays), during which I'll be around to help with problems you may encounter completing the homeworks.

In addition to the weekly homework assignments, drawn primarily from Software Foundations, there will be a take-home midterm exam (Week 7, approximately 15% of your grade) and a final project (Week 15, approximately 35%). The weekly homeworks and attendance at lecture and lab are worth approximately 50%.

Blackboard will be used only to report grades. Up-to-date information on all other aspects of the course (assignment due dates, etc.) will be posted on this website.

Schedule

The schedule is subject to revision.

Homework and Collaboration Policies

Unless otherwise noted, homework is due the Monday following the date it was assigned, by the start of class (3:05pm). Late homework assignments will be penalized according to the following formula:

• < 1 hour late: 10% deduction;
• < 24 hours late: 25% deduction;
• < 48 hours late: 50% deduction;
• >= 48 hours late: 100% deduction.

You may discuss the homework with other students in the class, preferably after you've attempted the problems on your own first. Just make sure to write the names of the students you spoke with, along with a brief summary of what you discussed, in a README comment at the top of each submission. Example:

(* README Gordon Stewart, Assn #1
I worked with X and Y. We swapped tips regarding the use of Coq's "rewrite" tactic. *)

However, under no circumstances are you permitted to share or directly copy code or other written homework material, except with course instructors. The code and proofs you turn in must be your own. Remember: homework is there to give *you* practice in the new ideas and techniques covered by the course; it does you no good if you don't engage!

In general, students in EECS courses such as this one should adhere to the Russ College of Engineering and Technology Honor Code, and to the OU Student Code of Conduct.

Students with Disabilities

If you suspect you may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability, please contact me privately to discuss your specific needs. If you're not yet registered as a student with a disability, contact the Office of Student Accessibility Services first.