https://github.com/catseye/philomath
MIRROR of https://codeberg.org/catseye/Philomath : An LCF-style theorem prover written in C89 (a.k.a ANSI C)
https://github.com/catseye/philomath
ansi-c c89 lcf-style natural-deduction proof-checker proof-checking propositional-logic theorem-prover theorem-proving
Last synced: 17 days ago
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MIRROR of https://codeberg.org/catseye/Philomath : An LCF-style theorem prover written in C89 (a.k.a ANSI C)
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/catseye/philomath
- Owner: catseye
- License: unlicense
- Created: 2022-04-01T20:09:01.000Z (about 3 years ago)
- Default Branch: master
- Last Pushed: 2023-12-19T16:37:35.000Z (over 1 year ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-03-24T03:53:10.264Z (about 1 month ago)
- Topics: ansi-c, c89, lcf-style, natural-deduction, proof-checker, proof-checking, propositional-logic, theorem-prover, theorem-proving
- Language: C
- Homepage: https://catseye.tc/node/Philomath
- Size: 51.8 KB
- Stars: 14
- Watchers: 3
- Forks: 2
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
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README
Philomath
=========
Version 1.1 | _See also:_ [LCF-style-Natural-Deduction][]
∘ [Maxixe](https://codeberg.org/catseye/Maxixe#maxixe)
∘ [Cardboard Prolog](https://codeberg.org/catseye/Cardboard-Prolog#cardboard-prolog)
- - - -
**Philomath** is an LCF-style theorem prover written in ANSI C. It implements
[classical propositional logic][] inside a [Natural Deduction][] system with
labelled assumptions. For more information on this approach, see the
**[LCF-style-Natural-Deduction][]** article.
How do I write a proof with this?
---------------------------------
Create a file `myproof.c`:
```c
#include "formula.h"
#include "proof.h"
int main(int argc, char **argv) {
/* Proof of p -> p */
return proves(
impl_intro(1, suppose(var("p"), 1)),
impl(var("p"), var("p"))
);
}
```
Then compile and run it with:
./build-proof.sh myproof
And run the resulting executable:
./myproof.exe
If the exit code is 0, the proof is valid!
% echo $?
0
If you wish to build the proof with debugging output, you can pass the `-D` flag:
./build-proof.sh -D myproof
Limitations
-----------
LCF-style theorem proving relies on data abstraction, i.e. information hiding.
In C, information hiding is accomplished by exposing, in a header file, only the
fact that a `struct` exists, and *not* exposing its structure. Client code can then
work with pointers to that `struct` without knowing what's contained in it.
It is however possible to subvert this mechanism. If your proof code does any of
the following things, it is possible it is no longer a valid proof:
* includes the file `proof.c` directly, rather than including `proof.h`
* casts a `struct theorem` value to some other type
* casts a value of some other type to a `struct theorem`
Fortunately, it is possible to statically analyze a C source file and confirm
that it does none of these things, if such a level of assurance is desired.
TODO
----
Should really have even more demo non-proofs, to help ensure that it's not
letting non-proofs pass themselves off as proofs somewhere.
History
-------
### 1.1
* When creating a `struct theorem` or `struct assumptions`, the
supplied `struct formula *` is now cloned (deep-copied) before being
stored in the structure. This prevents the theorem from being
manipulated after its creation by updating the contents of the
`struct formula *` that was used to create it. Thanks to
[Proloy Mishra](https://github.com/pro465) for pointing out this
hole.
* More test cases, and a driver script (`test.sh`) to run the tests.
* Added this "History" section to the README.
### 1.0-2022.0905
* Renamed `struct theorem` to `struct proof`, and `proof.{c,h}` to
`theorem.{c,h}` to better reflect what these objects are.
### 1.0
* Initial release of Philomath.
[classical propositional logic]: https://iep.utm.edu/natural-deduction/#H4
[Natural Deduction]: https://iep.utm.edu/natural-deduction/
[LCF-style-Natural-Deduction]: https://codeberg.org/catseye/The-Dossier/src/branch/master/article/LCF-style-Natural-Deduction/