Automated Model-based Verification of Object-Oriented Code

ESpec is a suite of tools that facilitates the testing and verification of object-oriented Eiffel programs in an integrated environment. The suite includes unit testing tools (ES-Test) and Fit tables (ES-Fit for customer requirements) that report contract failures. This paper describes ES-Verify (part of ESpec) for automatically verifying a significant subset of Eiffel constructs written with a value semantics. The tool includes a mathematical model library (sequences, sets, bags and maps) for writing high-level specifications, and a translator that converts the Eiffel code into the language used by the Perfect Developer (PD) theorem prover. Preliminary experience indicates that the vast majority of verification conditions are quickly and automatically discharged, including loop variants and invariants. ES-Verify is the first automated Eiffel verification tool and allows the developer to use the clean syntax and object-oriented structures of Eiffel, together with its mature industrial-strength design by contract (DbC) mechanism.