A Calculus for Program Construction Based on Fork Algebras, Design Strategies and Generic Algorithms
Marcelo Fabian Frias, Gabriel Alfredo Baum, Armando M. Haeberer · Studies in fuzziness and soft computing · 2001
At the end of Chapter 4 of the RelMiCS book [11] an application of fork algebras as the basis for a calculus for program construction is outlined. In this paper we make a detailed presentation of the calculus as well as present some examples. We present a methodology for program construction based on the first-order theory of fork algebras. In this theory we will describe program design strategies, for instance case analysis, trivialization, divide-and-conquer and others. Using these strategies, from generic specifications (i.e., parameterized specifications) we will derive parametric algorithms. We will also provide conditions that will help in finding the parameters of the generic algorithms from the parameters in the specifications. We assume the reader is acquainted with the terminology and notation for relation and fork algebras, as well as with their basic properties as they were presented in the RelMiCS book [11].