The Omnibus language and integrated verification approach

This thesis describes the Omnibus language and its supporting framework of tools. Omnibus is an object-oriented language which is superficially similar to the Java programming language but uses value semantics for objects and incorporates a behavioural interface specification language. Specifications are defined in terms of a subset of the query functions of the classes for which a frame-condition logic is provided. The language is well suited to the specification of modelling types and can also be used to write implementations. An overview of the language is presented and then specific aspects such as subtleties in the frame-condition logic, the implementation of value semantics and the role of equality are discussed. The challenges of reference semantics are also discussed. The Omnibus language is supported by an integrated verification tool which provides support for three assertion-based verification approaches: run-time assertion checking, extended static checking and full formal verification. The different approaches provide different balances between rigour and ease of use. The Omnibus tool allows these approaches to be used together in different parts of the same project. Guidelines are presented in order to help users avoid conflicts when using the approaches together. The use of the integrated verification approach to meet two key requirements of safe software component reuse, to have clear descriptions and some form of certification, are discussed along with the specialised facilities provided by the Omnibus tool to manage the distribution of components. The principles of the implementation of the tool are described, focussing on the integrated static verifier module that supports both extended static checking and full formal verification through the use of an intermediate logic. The different verification approaches are used to detect and correct a range of errors in a case study carried out using the Omnibus language. The case study is of a library system where copies of books, CDs and DVDs are loaned out to members. The implementation consists of 2278 lines of Omnibus code spread over 15 classes. To allow direct comparison of the different assertion-based verification approaches considered, run-time assertion checking, extended static checking and then full formal verification are applied to the application in its entirety. This directly illustrates the different balances between error coverage and ease-of-use which the approaches offer. Finally, the verification policy system is used to allow the approaches to be used together to verify different parts of the application

A formally verified compiler back-end

This article describes the development and formal verification (proof of semantic preservation) of a compiler back-end from Cminor (a simple imperative intermediate language) to PowerPC assembly code, using the Coq proof assistant both for programming the compiler and for proving its correctness. Such a verified compiler is useful in the context of formal methods applied to the certification of critical software: the verification of the compiler guarantees that the safety properties proved on the source code hold for the executable compiled code as well

A methodology for producing reliable software, volume 1

An investigation into the areas having an impact on producing reliable software including automated verification tools, software modeling, testing techniques, structured programming, and management techniques is presented. This final report contains the results of this investigation, analysis of each technique, and the definition of a methodology for producing reliable software

A Sparse SCF algorithm and its parallel implementation: Application to DFTB

We present an algorithm and its parallel implementation for solving a self consistent problem as encountered in Hartree Fock or Density Functional Theory. The algorithm takes advantage of the sparsity of matrices through the use of local molecular orbitals. The implementation allows to exploit efficiently modern symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) computer architectures. As a first application, the algorithm is used within the density functional based tight binding method, for which most of the computational time is spent in the linear algebra routines (diagonalization of the Fock/Kohn-Sham matrix). We show that with this algorithm (i) single point calculations on very large systems (millions of atoms) can be performed on large SMP machines (ii) calculations involving intermediate size systems (1~000--100~000 atoms) are also strongly accelerated and can run efficiently on standard servers (iii) the error on the total energy due to the use of a cut-off in the molecular orbital coefficients can be controlled such that it remains smaller than the SCF convergence criterion.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figure

Scaling Up Automated Verification: A Case Study and a Formalization IDE for Building High Integrity Software

Component-based software verification is a difficult challenge because developers must specify components formally and annotate implementations with suitable assertions that are amenable to automation. This research investigates the intrinsic complexity in this challenge using a component-based case study. Simultaneously, this work also seeks to minimize the extrinsic complexities of this challenge through the development and usage of a formalization integrated development environment (F-IDE) built for specifying, developing, and using verified reusable software components. The first contribution is an F-IDE built to support formal specification and automated verification of object-based software for the integrated specification and programming language RESOLVE. The F-IDE is novel, as it integrates a verifying compiler with a user-friendly interface that provides a number of amenities including responsive editing for model-based mathematical contracts and code, assistance for design by contract, verification, responsive error handling, and generation of property-preserving Java code that can be run within the F-IDE. The second contribution is a case study built using the F-IDE that involves an interplay of multiple artifacts encompassing mathematical units, component interfaces, and realizations. The object-based interfaces involved are specified in terms of new mathematical models and non-trivial theories designed to encapsulate data structures and algorithms. The components are designed to be amenable to modular verification and analysis

A Formal Verification Environment for Use in the Certification of Safety-Related C Programs

In this thesis the design of an environment for the formal verification of functional properties of safety-related software written in the programming language C is described. The focus lies on the verification of (primarily) geometric computations. We give an overview of the applicable regulations for safety-related software systems. We define a combination of higher-order logic as formalised in the theorem prover Isabelle and a specification language syntactically based on C expressions. The language retains the mathematical character of higher-level specifications in code specifications. A memory model for C is formalised which is appropriate to model low-level memory operations while keeping the entailed verification overhead in tolerable bounds. Finally, a Hoare style proof calculus is devised so that correctness proofs can be performed in one integrated framework. The applicability of the approach is demonstrated by describing its use in an industrial project

Formal verification of side-channel countermeasures using self-composition

Formal verification of cryptographic software implementations poses significant challenges for off-the-shelf tools. This is due to the domain-specific characteristics of the code, involving aggressive optimizations and non-functional security requirements, namely the critical aspect of countermeasures against side-channel attacks. In this paper, we extend previous results supporting the practicality of self-composition proofs of non-interference and generalizations thereof. We tackle the formal verification of high-level security policies adopted in the implementation of the recently proposed NaCl cryptographic library. We formalize these policies and propose a formal verification approach based on self-composition, extending the range of security policies that could previously be handled using this technique. We demonstrate our results by addressing compliance with the NaCl security policies in real-world cryptographic code, highlighting the potential for automation of our techniques.This work was partially supported by project SMART, funded by ENIAC joint Undertaking (GA 120224)