SIGs/FormalMethods

Fedora Formal Methods Special Interest Group (SIG)

What are Formal Methods?

"Formal methods" are techniques that use mathematics to prove that models of software, hardware, or systems will or will not have certain behavior. To be practical, they must be automated using tools. Free/Libre/Open Source Software (FLOSS) formal methods tools are now available, including automated theorem provers and model-checkers, but the tools can be difficult to install and apply.

Goal and Scope

The goal of the Formal Methods SIG is to make it easy to install formal methods tools in Fedora, ease learning how to apply them, encourage the development of "open proofs" (where an implementation, proofs, and required tools are all FLOSS), and to provide feedback to toolmakers so that the tools in Fedora can become more powerful, more scaleable, and easier to use together.

Mission and Plan

For more details, see the Mission Statement and Plan for the Formal Methods Fedora SIG.

Members

Co-Leads:

• David A. Wheeler
• Jerry James

Others:

• Alan Dunn
• Please add your name here!

Communication

• Mailing list: TBD. We may create a Fedora Formal Methods List. Alternatively, we may just use the existing open proofs mailing list... anyone have a preference?

Tasks

The following packages are our current focus:

• Package update for "Why" so 2.23 is in Fedora repository (adunn)
• Package critically-needed pvs libraries, so "Why" can invoke them (jjames)
• Package frama-c (adunn?)
• Package APRON (a draft is available)
• Package ACL2 (jjames looking at)

For packages that we'd like to see created, see the Open Proofs packaging status page. Jerry James has draft packages for some of these.

We intend to create a "formal methods" yum group soon, so that 'yum groupinstall "Formal methods"' will get you lots of packagey goodness. In the longer term, we hope to create a Fedora Spin with these packages.