An improved program-synthesizing algorithm and its correctness

  • Authors:
  • R. C. T. Lee;R. J. Waldinger;C. L. Chang

  • Affiliations:
  • National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD;Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park, CA;National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD

  • Venue:
  • Communications of the ACM
  • Year:
  • 1974

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Abstract

An improved program-synthesizing algorithm based on the algorithm proposed by Waldinger and Lee in 1969 is given. In the old algorithm, the program-synthesizing problem is translated into a theorem-proving problem, and a program is obtained by analyzing a proof. For the improved algorithm, the analysis is not necessary, and a program is obtained as soon as the proof is completed. This is achieved by using a modified variable tracing mechanism invented by Green in 1969. The correctness of the improved algorithm is also proved; i.e. the program thus obtained always satisfies the specification.