Guarded Commands
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Guarded Commands
The Guarded Command Language (GCL) is a programming language defined by Edsger Dijkstra for predicate transformer semantics in EWD472. It combines programming concepts in a compact way. It makes it easier to develop a program and its proof hand-in-hand, with the proof ideas leading the way; moreover, parts of a program can actually be ''calculated''. An important property of GCL is nondeterminism. For example, in the if-statement, several alternatives may be true, and the choice of which to choose is done at runtime, when the if-statement is executed. This frees the programmer from having to make unnecessary choices and is an aid in the formal development of programs. GCL includes the multiple assignment statement. For example, execution of the statement is done by first evaluating the righthand side values and then storing them in the lefthand variables. Thus, this statement swaps the values of and . The following books discuss the development of programs using GCL: * * * * * ...
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Programming Language
A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs. Most programming languages are text-based formal languages, but they may also be graphical. They are a kind of computer language. The description of a programming language is usually split into the two components of syntax (form) and semantics (meaning), which are usually defined by a formal language. Some languages are defined by a specification document (for example, the C programming language is specified by an ISO Standard) while other languages (such as Perl) have a dominant implementation that is treated as a reference. Some languages have both, with the basic language defined by a standard and extensions taken from the dominant implementation being common. Programming language theory is the subfield of computer science that studies the design, implementation, analysis, characterization, and classification of programming languages. Definitions There are many considerations when defini ...
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Conditional (programming)
In computer science, conditionals (that is, conditional statements, conditional expressions and conditional constructs,) are programming language commands for handling decisions. Specifically, conditionals perform different computations or actions depending on whether a programmer-defined boolean ''condition'' evaluates to true or false. In terms of control flow, the decision is always achieved by selectively altering the control flow based on some condition (apart from the case of branch predication). Although dynamic dispatch is not usually classified as a conditional construct, it is another way to select between alternatives at runtime. Terminology In imperative programming languages, the term "conditional statement" is usually used, whereas in functional programming, the terms "conditional expression" or "conditional construct" are preferred, because these terms all have distinct meanings. If–then(–else) The if–then construct (sometimes called if–then–els ...
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Formal Methods
In computer science, formal methods are mathematically rigorous techniques for the specification, development, and verification of software and hardware systems. The use of formal methods for software and hardware design is motivated by the expectation that, as in other engineering disciplines, performing appropriate mathematical analysis can contribute to the reliability and robustness of a design. Formal methods employ a variety of theoretical computer science fundamentals, including logic calculi, formal languages, automata theory, control theory, program semantics, type systems, and type theory. Background Semi-Formal Methods are formalisms and languages that are not considered fully “formal”. It defers the task of completing the semantics to a later stage, which is then done either by human interpretation or by interpretation through software like code or test case generators. Taxonomy Formal methods can be used at a number of levels: Level 0: Formal specification may ...
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Lattice (order)
A lattice is an abstract structure studied in the mathematical subdisciplines of order theory and abstract algebra. It consists of a partially ordered set in which every pair of elements has a unique supremum (also called a least upper bound or join) and a unique infimum (also called a greatest lower bound or meet). An example is given by the power set of a set, partially ordered by inclusion, for which the supremum is the union and the infimum is the intersection. Another example is given by the natural numbers, partially ordered by divisibility, for which the supremum is the least common multiple and the infimum is the greatest common divisor. Lattices can also be characterized as algebraic structures satisfying certain axiomatic identities. Since the two definitions are equivalent, lattice theory draws on both order theory and universal algebra. Semilattices include lattices, which in turn include Heyting and Boolean algebras. These ''lattice-like'' structures all admi ...
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Congruence Relation
In abstract algebra, a congruence relation (or simply congruence) is an equivalence relation on an algebraic structure (such as a group, ring, or vector space) that is compatible with the structure in the sense that algebraic operations done with equivalent elements will yield equivalent elements. Every congruence relation has a corresponding quotient structure, whose elements are the equivalence classes (or congruence classes) for the relation. Basic example The prototypical example of a congruence relation is congruence modulo n on the set of integers. For a given positive integer n, two integers a and b are called congruent modulo n, written : a \equiv b \pmod if a - b is divisible by n (or equivalently if a and b have the same remainder when divided by n). For example, 37 and 57 are congruent modulo 10, : 37 \equiv 57 \pmod since 37 - 57 = -20 is a multiple of 10, or equivalently since both 37 and 57 have a remainder of 7 when divided by 10. Congruence modulo n (for ...
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Arg Max
In mathematics, the arguments of the maxima (abbreviated arg max or argmax) are the points, or elements, of the domain of some function at which the function values are maximized.For clarity, we refer to the input (''x'') as ''points'' and the output (''y'') as ''values;'' compare critical point and critical value. In contrast to global maxima, which refers to the largest ''outputs'' of a function, arg max refers to the ''inputs'', or arguments, at which the function outputs are as large as possible. Definition Given an arbitrary set a totally ordered set and a function, the \operatorname over some subset S of X is defined by :\operatorname_S f := \underset\, f(x) := \. If S = X or S is clear from the context, then S is often left out, as in \underset\, f(x) := \. In other words, \operatorname is the set of points x for which f(x) attains the function's largest value (if it exists). \operatorname may be the empty set, a singleton, or contain multiple elements. In th ...
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Bubble Sort
Bubble sort, sometimes referred to as sinking sort, is a simple sorting algorithm that repeatedly steps through the input list element by element, comparing the current element with the one after it, swapping their values if needed. These passes through the list are repeated until no swaps had to be performed during a pass, meaning that the list has become fully sorted. The algorithm, which is a comparison sort, is named for the way the larger elements "bubble" up to the top of the list. This simple algorithm performs poorly in real world use and is used primarily as an educational tool. More efficient algorithms such as quicksort, timsort, or merge sort are used by the sorting libraries built into popular programming languages such as Python and Java. Analysis Performance Bubble sort has a worst-case and average complexity of O(n^2), where n is the number of items being sorted. Most practical sorting algorithms have substantially better worst-case or average complexity, ...
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Bézout's Identity
In mathematics, Bézout's identity (also called Bézout's lemma), named after Étienne Bézout, is the following theorem: Here the greatest common divisor of and is taken to be . The integers and are called Bézout coefficients for ; they are not unique. A pair of Bézout coefficients can be computed by the extended Euclidean algorithm, and this pair is, in the case of integers one of the two pairs such that , x, \le , b/d , and , y, \le , a/d , ; equality occurs only if one of and is a multiple of the other. As an example, the greatest common divisor of 15 and 69 is 3, and 3 can be written as a combination of 15 and 69 as with Bézout coefficients −9 and 2. Many other theorems in elementary number theory, such as Euclid's lemma or the Chinese remainder theorem, result from Bézout's identity. A Bézout domain is an integral domain in which Bézout's identity holds. In particular, Bézout's identity holds in principal ideal domains. Every theorem that results from ...
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Extended Euclidean Algorithm
In arithmetic and computer programming, the extended Euclidean algorithm is an extension to the Euclidean algorithm, and computes, in addition to the greatest common divisor (gcd) of integers ''a'' and ''b'', also the coefficients of Bézout's identity, which are integers ''x'' and ''y'' such that : ax + by = \gcd(a, b). This is a certifying algorithm, because the gcd is the only number that can simultaneously satisfy this equation and divide the inputs. It allows one to compute also, with almost no extra cost, the quotients of ''a'' and ''b'' by their greatest common divisor. also refers to a very similar algorithm for computing the polynomial greatest common divisor and the coefficients of Bézout's identity of two univariate polynomials. The extended Euclidean algorithm is particularly useful when ''a'' and ''b'' are coprime. With that provision, ''x'' is the modular multiplicative inverse of ''a'' modulo ''b'', and ''y'' is the modular multiplicative inverse of ''b'' modul ...
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Greatest Common Divisor
In mathematics, the greatest common divisor (GCD) of two or more integers, which are not all zero, is the largest positive integer that divides each of the integers. For two integers ''x'', ''y'', the greatest common divisor of ''x'' and ''y'' is denoted \gcd (x,y). For example, the GCD of 8 and 12 is 4, that is, \gcd (8, 12) = 4. In the name "greatest common divisor", the adjective "greatest" may be replaced by "highest", and the word "divisor" may be replaced by "factor", so that other names include highest common factor (hcf), etc. Historically, other names for the same concept have included greatest common measure. This notion can be extended to polynomials (see Polynomial greatest common divisor) and other commutative rings (see below). Overview Definition The ''greatest common divisor'' (GCD) of two nonzero integers and is the greatest positive integer such that is a divisor of both and ; that is, there are integers and such that and , and is the largest s ...
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Euclidean Algorithm
In mathematics, the Euclidean algorithm,Some widely used textbooks, such as I. N. Herstein's ''Topics in Algebra'' and Serge Lang's ''Algebra'', use the term "Euclidean algorithm" to refer to Euclidean division or Euclid's algorithm, is an efficient method for computing the greatest common divisor (GCD) of two integers (numbers), the largest number that divides them both without a remainder. It is named after the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid, who first described it in Euclid's Elements, his ''Elements'' (c. 300 BC). It is an example of an ''algorithm'', a step-by-step procedure for performing a calculation according to well-defined rules, and is one of the oldest algorithms in common use. It can be used to reduce Fraction (mathematics), fractions to their Irreducible fraction, simplest form, and is a part of many other number-theoretic and cryptographic calculations. The Euclidean algorithm is based on the principle that the greatest common divisor of two numbers does not ...
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