SPEEDY: An Eclipse-based IDE for invariant inference
This work addresses the problem of making formal methods more accessible for software developers, but it is incremental as it builds on existing tools and architectures.
The authors tackled the challenge of reducing developer effort in using formal methods by creating SPEEDY, an Eclipse-based IDE that integrates invariant inference algorithms and tools for C programs, confirming the importance of in-IDE specification editing and automation.
SPEEDY is an Eclipse-based IDE for exploring techniques that assist users in generating correct specifications, particularly including invariant inference algorithms and tools. It integrates with several back-end tools that propose invariants and will incorporate published algorithms for inferring object and loop invariants. Though the architecture is language-neutral, current SPEEDY targets C programs. Building and using SPEEDY has confirmed earlier experience demonstrating the importance of showing and editing specifications in the IDEs that developers customarily use, automating as much of the production and checking of specifications as possible, and showing counterexample information directly in the source code editing environment. As in previous work, automation of specification checking is provided by back-end SMT solvers. However, reducing the effort demanded of software developers using formal methods also requires a GUI design that guides users in writing, reviewing, and correcting specifications and automates specification inference.