Abstract
Weakest preconditions were introduced by Dijkstra as a tool to define the semantics of programming constructs, and thereby as a means to prove the correctness of programs; the dual concept of strongest postcondition was introduced subsequently as an alternative means for the same ends. In this paper, we present and discuss a method to compute weakest preconditions and strongest postconditions of while loops in a C-like programming language; to this effect, we use the concept of invariant relation. Whereas the task of computing weakest preconditions and strongest postconditions of while loops is usually approached by limiting the number of iterations and applying successive sequential compositions, invariant relations afford us a crisper, closed form solution.
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Mraihi, O., Ghardallou, W., Louhichi, A., Labed Jilani, L., Bsaies, K., Mili, A. (2011). Computing Preconditions and Postconditions of While Loops. In: Cerone, A., Pihlajasaari, P. (eds) Theoretical Aspects of Computing – ICTAC 2011. ICTAC 2011. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 6916. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-23283-1_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-23283-1_13
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