C*: Unifying Programming and Verification in C

Computer Science > Programming Languages Title:C*: Unifying Programming and Verification in C Abstract:Ensuring the correct functionality of systems software, given its safety-critical and low-level nature, is a primary focus in formal verification research and applications. Despite advances in verification tooling, conventional programmers are rarely involved in the verification of their own code, resulting in higher development and maintenance costs for verified software. A key barrier to programmer participation in verification practices is the disconnect of environments and paradigms between programming and verification practices, which limits accessibility and real-time verification. We introduce C*, a proof-integrated language design for C programming. C* extends C with verification capabilities, powered by a symbolic execution engine and an LCF-style proof kernel. It enables real-time verification by allowing programmers to embed proof-code blocks alongside implementation code, facilitating interactive updates to the current proof state. Its expressive and extensible proof support allows users to build reusable libraries of logical definitions, theorems, and programmable proof automation. Crucially, C* unifies implementation and proof code development by using C as the common language. We implemented a prototype of C* and evaluated it on a representative benchmark of small C programs and a challenging real-world case study: the attach function of pKVM's buddy allocator. Our results demonstrate that C* supports the verification of a broad subset of C programming idioms and effectively handles complex reasoning tasks in real-world scenarios. Submission history Access Paper: View PDF HTML (experimental) TeX Source Current browse context: References & Citations NASA ADS Google Scholar Semantic Scholar BibTeX formatted citation Bookmark Bibliographic and Citation Tools Code, Data and Media Associated with this Article Demos Recommenders and Search Tools Author Venue Institution Topic arXivLabs: experimental projects with community collaborators arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website. Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them. Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs.