[SystemSafety] proofs

paul_e.bennett at topmail.co.uk paul_e.bennett at topmail.co.uk
Thu Nov 22 19:02:25 CET 2018


On 22/11/2018 at 4:48 PM, "Martyn Thomas" <martyn at thomas-associates.co.uk> wrote:
>
>On 22/11/2018 14:48, Olwen Morgan wrote:
>
>> Actually, after having sent this, it occurred to me that 
>blockchain
>> technology might allow arbitrary proof-checkers to check putative
>> proofs on a double-blind anonymity basis. Perhaps this could 
>address
>> IPR/confidentiality issues for the proof developer?
>>
>> Just a thought.
>>
>> O
>>
>I don't see the benefit of blockchain in this application, nor the 
>need
>to be double blind. Wouldn't it be better to put the proofs 
>somewhere
>public and have proofcheckers attach signed certificates saying 
>they had
>checked and verified the proofs?
>
>But the problem remains that it will be necessary to show that the 
>logic
>that the proofcheckers analyse is a correct representation of the
>software and of the claims being made about the properties of that
>software when it runs in the target environment. How would that 
>best be
>achieved?
>
>Martyn

As I know I have stated many times before, like hardware components,
software components need to be supplied with a descriptive data-sheet that
explicitly states what the functionality of the component is, the environmental
expectations and limitations of use. Against such a data-sheet, you can then
apply the proofs, tests and other quality determination to allow assessment of
whether such a component is fit for purpose. After all, we already do this for
the hardware side of things. Again, why is software so different?

Just to be clear, the standard of documentation on most software I have seen
is thoroughly inadequate to be able to make such assessments and it costs
time (and hence money) to begin even a cursory evaluation.

Regards

Paul E. Bennett IEng MIET
Systems Engineer
Lunar Mission One Ambassador
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