FIT 100
© Copyright University of
Washington 1999-2000
An Aside on Program Correctness
vOne area of computer science research is proving programs
correct. This is a difficult problem,
and the techniques are almost never used in practice.
vWe can prove
mathematically that certain algorithms are correct. For example, we can prove that binary search will
always find the desired value (and within a certain number of steps).
v A major problem with proofs of correctness:
does the specification cover all the circumstances of use?