Filling the Void: the application of Free Logic to programming.

In computer science dealing with non denoting terms is a common occurrence. In the programming language Eiffel, if a term does not denote an object, it is an alias of Void. In introducing Void into his programming language, Algol W, Hoare considers it his billion dollar mistake. To mitigate the erro...

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Published in:Hermathena no. 191; pp. 69 - 92
Main Author: Gibbons, Hugh
Format: Article
Published: Trinity College, Dublin Winter2011
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        au: Gibbons, Hugh
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        Free logic
        Eiffel (Computer program language)
        Vacuum
        Programming languages
        Logic
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          Free logic
          Eiffel (Computer program language)
          Vacuum
          Programming languages
          Logic
      ab: In computer science dealing with non denoting terms is a common occurrence. In the programming language Eiffel, if a term does not denote an object, it is an alias of Void. In introducing Void into his programming language, Algol W, Hoare considers it his billion dollar mistake. To mitigate the errors in using Void, the programming language Eiffel has introduced a Void-Safety mechanism. This mechanism makes explicit the presupposition of the existence of terms. In the following article the logic of assertions in Eiffel is considered not a standard logic due to the use of Void, but a Free Logic. This has implications for the correctness of programs.
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