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Automating Induction with an SMT Solver

  • Conference paper
Verification, Model Checking, and Abstract Interpretation (VMCAI 2012)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNTCS,volume 7148))

Abstract

Mechanical proof assistants have always had support for inductive proofs. Sometimes an alternative to proof assistants, satisfiability modulo theories (SMT) solvers bring the hope of a higher degree of automation. However, SMT solvers do not natively support induction, so inductive proofs require some encoding into the SMT solver’s input.

This paper shows a surprisingly simple tactic—a rewriting strategy and a heuristic for when to apply it—that has shown to be useful in verifying simple inductive theorems, like those that can occur during program verification.

The paper describes the tactic and its implementation in a program verifier, and reports on the positive experience with using the tactic.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Microsoft Research, Redmond, WA, USA

    K. Rustan M. Leino

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  1. K. Rustan M. Leino
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), IC IIF LARA INR 318, Station 14, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Viktor Kuncak

  2. Institut für Informatik, Technische Universität München, Boltzmannstr. 3, 85748, Munich, Germany

    Andrey Rybalchenko

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Leino, K.R.M. (2012). Automating Induction with an SMT Solver. In: Kuncak, V., Rybalchenko, A. (eds) Verification, Model Checking, and Abstract Interpretation. VMCAI 2012. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 7148. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27940-9_21

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27940-9_21

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-27939-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27940-9

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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