Proving Properties of Sorting Programs: A Case Study in Horn Clause Verification

TL;DR

This paper explores Horn clause verification for sorting programs, demonstrating how transformation techniques and difference predicates can effectively verify correctness and arithmetic properties of various sorting algorithms using CHC solvers.

Contribution

It introduces a transformation approach to simplify verification of sorting programs by eliminating inductive data structures and employs difference predicates to facilitate property proofs.

Findings

Transformation technique effectively reduces CHCs to integer and boolean constraints.

Difference predicates assist in proving sorting correctness and arithmetic properties.

Verification success demonstrated on multiple sorting algorithms with CHC solvers.

Abstract

The proof of a program property can be reduced to the proof of satisfiability of a set of constrained Horn clauses (CHCs) which can be automatically generated from the program and the property. In this paper we have conducted a case study in Horn clause verification by considering several sorting programs with the aim of exploring the effectiveness of a transformation technique which allows us to eliminate inductive data structures such as lists or trees. If this technique is successful, we derive a set of CHCs with constraints over the integers and booleans only, and the satisfiability check can often be performed in an effective way by using state-of-the-art CHC solvers, such as Eldarica or Z3. In this case study we have also illustrated the usefulness of a companion technique based on the introduction of the so-called difference predicates, whose definitions correspond to lemmata required during the verification. We have considered functional programs which implement the following kinds of sorting algorithms acting on lists of integers: (i) linearly recursive sorting algorithms, such as insertion sort and selection sort, and (ii) non-linearly recursive sorting algorithms, such as quicksort and mergesort, and we have considered the following properties: (i) the partial correctness properties, that is, the orderedness of the output lists, and the equality of the input and output lists when viewed as multisets, and (ii) some arithmetic properties, such as the equality of the sum of the elements before and after sorting.

Full text

1 Introduction

2 Verification of Linearly Recursive Sorting Algorithms

3 Verification of Non-Linearly Recursive Sorting Algorithms

4 Concluding Remarks

5 Acknowledgments

6 Appendix