Proof of a Program: FIND

The work

AuthorsC. A. R. Hoare
Typearticle
Year1971
Citekeyhoare1971proof

Where it appeared

Published inCommunications of the ACM
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
Volume14
Issue1
Pages39--45

Identifiers

DOI10.1145/362452.362489

Related

Distinct fromfoley1971proof

Abstract

A proof is given of the correctness of the algorithm “Find.” First, an informal description is given of the purpose of the program and the method used. A systematic technique is described for constructing the program proof during the process of coding it, in such a way as to prevent the intrusion of logical errors. The proof of termination is treated as a separate exercise. Finally, some conclusions relating to general programming methodology are drawn.

A copy is held

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How it got here

How it got hereimport via bibtex
Added2026-08-09 00:00 UTC
Approved bya person 2026-08-28 21:27 UTC

Cite it as

@article{hoare1971proof,
  title        = {Proof of a Program: FIND},
  author       = {C. A. R. Hoare},
  year         = {1971},
  journal      = {Communications of the ACM},
  volume       = {14},
  number       = {1},
  pages        = {39--45},
  publisher    = {Association for Computing Machinery},
  doi          = {10.1145/362452.362489},
}

This record lives at https://refs.drheap.org/hoare1971proof/ and will keep doing so.