Formal Methods at Scale

This special issue of IEEE Security & Privacy offers some experience how the formal methods (FM) community, working in partnership with sponsors and users, is achieving a broader use this critical technology at increasing levels scale. Formal have rich history spanning half-century. Mathematical proofs properties programs been sought since early days computing. Despite these aspirations, FMs not broadly taken hold due to barriers scale, usability, engineering realism, economics, available specially trained staff, mission incentives. Indeed, for decades, FM tools ecosystems could only operate on problems systems modest There has, nonetheless, strong impetus continue advance driven by emerging uses computing hardware software systems, such as space aircraft flight control, communication security, cryptography.