The Parma Polyhedra Library: Toward a Complete Set of Numerical Abstractions for the Analysis and Verification of Hardware and Software Systems

TL;DR

The Parma Polyhedra Library provides a comprehensive, reliable, and efficient set of numerical abstractions for analyzing and verifying hardware and software systems, combining theoretical foundations with practical software engineering.

Contribution

This paper introduces the latest version of the Parma Polyhedra Library, highlighting its unique features, theoretical foundations, and suitability for system analysis and verification tasks.

Findings

Offers a unique combination of functionality, reliability, and performance.

Includes features that distinguish it from similar libraries.

Supports applications in hardware and software system analysis.

Abstract

Since its inception as a student project in 2001, initially just for the handling (as the name implies) of convex polyhedra, the Parma Polyhedra Library has been continuously improved and extended by joining scrupulous research on the theoretical foundations of (possibly non-convex) numerical abstractions to a total adherence to the best available practices in software development. Even though it is still not fully mature and functionally complete, the Parma Polyhedra Library already offers a combination of functionality, reliability, usability and performance that is not matched by similar, freely available libraries. In this paper, we present the main features of the current version of the library, emphasizing those that distinguish it from other similar libraries and those that are important for applications in the field of analysis and verification of hardware and software systems.