Introduction

Abstract

Program Verification IS a systematic approach to proving the correctness of programs. Correctness means that the programs enjoy certain desirable properties. For sequential programs these properties are delivery of correct results and termination. For concurrent programs, that is, those with several active components, the properties of interference freedom, deadlock freedom and fair behavior are also important. The emphasis in this book is on verification of concurrent programs, in particular of parallel and distributed programs where the components communicate either via shared variables or explicit message passing. Such programs are usually difficult to design, and errors are more a rule than an exception. Of course, we also consider sequential programs because they occur as components of concurrent ones.