Software Model Checking and Predicate Abstraction with CEGAR

Ensuring software reliability in complex systems requires rigorous verification techniques beyond standard testing. This text-based course introduces the core principles of software model checking, showing you how mathematical abstraction makes program verification feasible and precise. You will build a thorough understanding of how programs are represented as state systems, how abstractions eliminate state space explosion, and how automated refinement produces accurate verification results. What you'll learn: - Understand fundamental concepts and terminology of formal software verification - Learn how predicate abstraction maps infinite-state systems into manageable boolean models - Master the Counterexample-Guided Abstraction Refinement (CEGAR) workflow - Analyze spurious counterexamples to compute targeted predicate refinements - Explore modern SMT solver fundamentals and their role in automated verification - Apply invariance and safety property verification strategies to software models The course starts with essential logic and state-transition definitions before advancing step-by-step through abstraction algorithms, precision tuning, and automated verification loops. This course is created for programmers, computer science students, and engineers who want a clear conceptual entry point into formal methods without requiring prior verification background. Begin reading today to master the algorithmic foundations of automated software model checking.