Logics for reasoning about Partial Functions

Partial functions and operators are ubiquitous when specifying and reasoning about computer systems. It has been a long-term research interest to look at logics that cope well with partial functions. Recent research with Matthew Lovert and Jason Steggles has looked at mechanisation issues.

The initial paper on LPF was A Logic Covering Undefinedness in Program Proofs by H. Barringer, J.H. Cheng and C. B. Jones; published in Acta Informatica

The above (and Jen Cheng's thesis) covered the untyped logic; the soundness of the typed version of LPF is tackled in A Typed Logic of Partial Functions Reconstructed Classically by C.B. Jones and C.A. Middelburg; published in Acta Informatica

On the usability of logics which handle partial functions by J. H. Cheng and C. B. Jones; pages 51-69 of 3rd Refinement Workshop, edited by C. Morgan and J. C. P. Woodcock; published by Springer-Verlag, 1991. This is also available as a technical report, UMCS-90-3-1.

A recent useful result is in The Connection between Two Ways of Reasoning about Partial Functions John Fitzgerald and Cliff B. Jones; published in IPL

Partial functions and logics: A warning by C. B. Jones; Information Processing Letters Vol 54, pp 65-67, 1995

Must add (two) with Matthew
 

A longer list of references is available (but needs updating)

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