English

The Boyer-Moore Waterfall Model Revisited

Logic in Computer Science 2018-08-14 v1

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the potential of the Boyer-Moore waterfall model for the automation of inductive proofs within a modern proof assistant. We analyze the basic concepts and methodology underlying this 30-year-old model and implement a new, fully integrated tool in the theorem prover HOL Light that can be invoked as a tactic. We also describe several extensions and enhancements to the model. These include the integration of existing HOL Light proof procedures and the addition of state-of-the-art generalization techniques into the waterfall. Various features, such as proof feedback and heuristics dealing with non-termination, that are needed to make this automated tool useful within our interactive setting are also discussed. Finally, we present a thorough evaluation of the approach using a set of 150 theorems, and discuss the effectiveness of our additions and relevance of the model in light of our results.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1808.03810,
  title  = {The Boyer-Moore Waterfall Model Revisited},
  author = {Petros Papapanagiotou and Jacques Fleuriot},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1808.03810},
  year   = {2018}
}

Comments

Originally written: September 2011

R2 v1 2026-06-23T03:30:50.921Z