Static Code Verification Through Process Models

Abstract

In this extended abstract, we combine two techniques for program verification: one is Hoare-style static verification, and the other is model checking of state transition systems. We relate the two techniques semantically through the use of a ghost variable. Actions that are performed by the program can be logged into this variable, building an event structure as its value. We require the event structure to grow incrementally by construction, giving it behavior suitable for model checking. Invariants specify a correspondence between the event structure and the program state. The combined power of model checking and static code verification with separation logic based reasoning, gives a new and intuitive way to do program verification. We describe our idea in a tool-agnostic way: we do not give implementation details, nor do we assume that the static verification tool to which our idea might apply is implemented in a particular way.