Rigorous Software Development: An Introduction to Program Verification

by José Bacelar Almeida, Maria João Frade, Jorge Sousa Pinto, Simão Melo de Sousa

Overview

Software errors can lead to catastrophic consequences, from financial losses to threats to human safety. As a result, rigorous methods for software development and validation have become increasingly critical. Program verification, a key area of formal methods, provides mathematical tools and techniques to ensure that software behaves as intended.

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to program verification, combining theoretical foundations with practical applications using real-world tools. It offers a self-contained overview of propositional logic and first-order reasoning with theories, followed by a study of Hoare-style program logic with annotations and the generation of verification conditions. The use of Frama-C’s WP plug-in for verifying C programs annotated with the ACSL specification language, including safety properties, is also covered. This revised and expanded second edition incorporates recent advances in formal methods and program verification, integrating new techniques, tools, and exercises to equip readers with the skills necessary for rigorous software development.

Rigorous Software Development is ideal for computer science students, researchers in formal methods, and software engineers seeking a deeper understanding of program verification techniques and tools. It equips readers with the knowledge needed to apply rigorous methods in practice while providing a solid foundation for the evolving landscape of modern software engineering.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781447175575
Publisher:	Springer London
Publication date:	12/13/2025
Series:	Undergraduate Topics in Computer Science
Edition description:	Second Edition 2025
Pages:	342
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

José Bacelar Almeida is a lecturer at the University of Minho, Portugal. He graduated in Electrical and Computer Engineering and received his PhD in Computer Science from the University of Minho. His areas of interest include semantics of programming languages, proof assistants, and security. Maria João Frade obtained her PhD in Computer Science from the University of Minho, Portugal, and is currently a lecturer at this institution. Her research interests include type theory, structural proof theory, semantics of programming languages and program logics. Jorge Sousa Pinto obtained his PhD in Computer Science from École Polytechnique, France, and is currently a lecturer at the University of Minho, Portugal. His interests include program verification and the use of formal methods in software engineering. Simão Melo de Sousa is a lecturer at the University of Beira Interior, Portugal. He graduated in Computer Science from the University of Orléans, France, and received his PhD in ComputerScience from the University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis / INRIA. His interests include formal methods, reliability and security of computer systems, and computer-aided reasoning.

Table of Contents

List of Figures.- 1. Introduction.- 2. An Overview of Formal Methods Tools and Techniques.- 3. Propositional Logic.- 4. First-Order Logic.- 5. Hoare Logic.- 6. Generating Verification Conditions.- 7. Safety Properties.- 8. Procedures and Contracts.- 9. Specifying C Programs.- 10. Verifying C Programs.- Bibliography.- Index.

Editorial Reviews

From the reviews:

“Provide a refreshing approach to a textbook on formal testing and verification methods. … intended for undergraduate students and will be useful to practitioners as well. The authors lay out the topics in incremental fashion … present enough information to foster a good understanding of the theoretical framework supporting formal methods … . The exercises are very useful and provide a practical side to the methods; the references will be vital to practitioners … . Summing Up: Recommended. All undergraduate students, practitioners, and general readers.” (L. Benedicenti, Choice, Vol. 49 (1), September, 2011)

“The first half carefully introduces logic without reference to software, while the second half develops verification techniques. … an undergraduate textbook in computer science and is suitable for well-motivated students willing and able to assimilate the chapters devoted to logic. … Each chapter ends with a very helpful ‘To Learn More’ section … and gives references for further study. … this book will benefit its intended readers and will give them a good foundation in program verification that can be used in applications … .” (Arthur Gittleman, ACM Computing Reviews, December, 2011)

“This book is a concise introduction to formal methods together with an in-depth coverage of model-based and Hoare logic-based methods and focuses on two approaches … . This text is a self-contained introduction to program verification using logic-based methods, presented in the broader context of formal methods for software engineering. Undergraduate students will find this useful in their course.” (CSI eNewsletter, Vol. 4 (1), January, 2013)

From the Publisher