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How to write correct programs and know it

Author:

Harlan D. MillsAuthors Info & Claims

ACM SIGPLAN Notices, Volume 10, Issue 6

Pages 363 - 370

https://doi.org/10.1145/390016.808459

Published: 01 April 1975 Publication History

Abstract

There is no foolproof way to ever know that you have found the last error in a program. So the best way to acquire confidence that a program has no errors is never to find the first one, no matter how much it is tested and used. It is an old myth that programming must be an error-prone, cut-and-try process of frustration and anxiety. The new reality is that you can learn to consistently write programs which are error free in their debugging and subsequent use. This new reality is founded in the ideas of structured programming and program correctness, which not only provide a systematic approach to programming but also motivate a high degree of concentration and precision in the coding subprocess.

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Cited By

Nolan KBergin SSheard JMontero C(2016)The role of anxiety when learning to programProceedings of the 16th Koli Calling International Conference on Computing Education Research10.1145/2999541.2999557(61-70)Online publication date: 24-Nov-2016
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2999541.2999557
Feldman M(2006)Data abstraction structured programming, and the practicing programmerSoftware: Practice and Experience10.1002/spe.438011070611:7(697-710)Online publication date: 27-Oct-2006
https://doi.org/10.1002/spe.4380110706
Basil VSelby R(2005)Comparing the Effectiveness of Software Testing StrategiesFoundations of Empirical Software Engineering10.1007/3-540-27662-9_20(300-338)Online publication date: 2005
https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-27662-9_20
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Index Terms

How to write correct programs and know it
1. Software and its engineering
2. Theory of computation
  1. Logic
    1. Proof theory

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Information & Contributors

Information

Published In

cover image ACM SIGPLAN Notices

ACM SIGPLAN Notices Volume 10, Issue 6

International Conference on Reliable Software

June 1975

563 pages

ISSN:0362-1340

EISSN:1558-1160

DOI:10.1145/390016

Issue’s Table of Contents

Proceedings of the international conference on Reliable software
April 1975
567 pages
ISBN:9781450373852
DOI:10.1145/800027
Chairmen:
Martin L. Shooman,
Raymond T. Yeh

Copyright © 1975 Author.

Publisher

Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 01 April 1975

Published in SIGPLAN Volume 10, Issue 6

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Cited By

Nolan KBergin SSheard JMontero C(2016)The role of anxiety when learning to programProceedings of the 16th Koli Calling International Conference on Computing Education Research10.1145/2999541.2999557(61-70)Online publication date: 24-Nov-2016
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2999541.2999557
Feldman M(2006)Data abstraction structured programming, and the practicing programmerSoftware: Practice and Experience10.1002/spe.438011070611:7(697-710)Online publication date: 27-Oct-2006
https://doi.org/10.1002/spe.4380110706
Basil VSelby R(2005)Comparing the Effectiveness of Software Testing StrategiesFoundations of Empirical Software Engineering10.1007/3-540-27662-9_20(300-338)Online publication date: 2005
https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-27662-9_20
Salt N(1979)70's programming style for a developing country programmingProceedings of the 1979 annual conference10.1145/800177.810048(128-134)Online publication date: 1-Jan-1979
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/800177.810048
Walfish IJanauer G(1979)A new approach to water disinfection: I. N,N-dimethylalkylbenzyl-polystyrene anion exchange resins as contact disinfectantsWater, Air, and Soil Pollution10.1007/BF0104686812:4(477-484)Online publication date: Nov-1979
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01046868
Weiner L(1978)The roots of structured programmingACM SIGCSE Bulletin10.1145/990654.99063610:1(243-254)Online publication date: 1-Feb-1978
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/990654.990636
Weiner LWilliams K(1978)The roots of structured programmingPapers of the SIGCSE/CSA technical symposium on Computer science education10.1145/990555.990636(243-254)Online publication date: 23-Feb-1978
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/990555.990636
Mills H(1976)Software DevelopmentIEEE Transactions on Software Engineering10.1109/TSE.1976.2338312:4(265-273)Online publication date: 1-Jul-1976
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1109/TSE.1976.233831
Kopetz H(2011)What i learned from brianDependable and Historic Computing10.5555/2184121.2184123(1-6)Online publication date: 1-Jan-2011
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/2184121.2184123
Kopetz H(2011)What I Learned from BrianDependable and Historic Computing10.1007/978-3-642-24541-1_1(1-6)Online publication date: 2011
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-24541-1_1
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