Hoare logic is widely used for software specification and verification. Frequently we need to prove the total correctness of a program: to prove that the program not only satisfies its pre- and post-conditions but also terminates. We have implemented a termination checker for Isabelle's Hoare logic. The tool can be used as an oracle, where Isabelle accepts its claim of termination. The tool can also be used as an Isabelle method for proving the entire total correctness specification. For many loop structures, verifying the tool's termination claim within Isabelle is essentially automatic.
@InProceedings{Meng_PK_07,
author = {Jia Meng and Lawrence C. Paulson and Gerwin Klein},
title = {A Termination Checker for Isabelle Hoare Logic},
booktitle = {4th International Verification Workshop - VERIFY'07},
editor = {Bernhard Beckert},
pages = {104--118},
year = {2007},
address = {Bremen, Germany},
month = jul,
volume = {259},
series = {CEUR Workshop Proceedings},
issn = {1613-0073},
}