Parallel Program Design: A Foundation

I rate this book 5 stars even in the knowledge that the ideas presented never went anywhere. What is presented is sufficiently interesting and well presented that it is still worth examining. Chandy creates a temporal logic that can be applied to the specification of computer programs. It was created primarily for parallel programs but applies equally as well to non-parallel programs. The great thing about this logic is that it is possible to carry out proofs that the program does what it is intended. It is also possible to convert the logic into a standard programming language.I would have to guess that the reason this idea never caught on is the difficulty of doing the proofs. Unless there is some easy way to automate the proof process this method is not very practical. Still the ideas have a lot of intrinsic interest and are of such great potential use that I think this book is worth examining.