COS 516/ECE 516: Automated Reasoning about Software, Fall 2026

Course information

Semester: Fall 2026
Lectures: Monday & Wednesday 10:40 - 12:00pm
Location: Sherrerd Hall, Room 001
Instructor: Zak Kincaid, zkincaid@cs.princeton.edu. Office hours: TBD
Teaching assistant: TBD

Links: Canvas | Ed | Calculus of Computation

Description

An introduction to algorithmic techniques for reasoning about software. Basic concepts in logic-based techniques including model checking, invariant generation, and symbolic execution; automatic decision procedures in modern solvers for Boolean Satisfiability (SAT) and Satisfiability Modulo Theory (SMT); and their applications in automated verification and analysis of software. Emphasis on algorithms and automatic tools.

Schedule

This is a tentative schedule that may be changed during the course.
Links for reading material should be accessible from inside the Princeton network. Contact Zak Kincaid if you are having difficulty accessing resources.

Date	Topics	Readings	Assignments
Sept 2	Introduction & Propositional logic.	Bradley/Manna Ch 1
Sept 7	Labor Day holiday
Sept 9	Formal proofs and proof checking with Lean.
Sept 14	SAT solving: DPLL and resolution.		PSet 1A due
Sept 16	SAT solving: CDCL -- web demo.	Marques-Silva, Lynce, Malik: SAT handbook, Chapter 4
Sept 21	Finite transition systems and Binary Decision Diagrams.		PSet 1B due
Sept 23	Binary decision diagrams.	Bryant: Graph-Based Algorithms for Boolean Function Manipulation
Sept 28	First-order logic.	Bradley/Manna Ch 2	PSet 2 due
Sept 30	First-order theories.	Bradley/Manna Ch 3
Oct 5	SMT solving.	De Moura, Bjørner: Satisfiability Modulo Theories: Introduction and Applications	PSet 3 due
Oct 7	SMT solving.	Barrett, Sebastiani, Seisha, Tinelli: SAT handbook, Chapter 26
Oct 12	Midterm review.		PSet 4 due
Oct 14	Midterm exam.
Oct 19,21	Fall break
Oct 26	Programs, operational semantics, and partial correctness.	Bradley/Manna Ch 4-6 Hoare: An axiomatic basis for computer programming
Oct 28	Termination and total correctness.
Nov 2	Semi-automated verification.	Bradley/Manna Ch 12	Project outline due
Nov 4	Invariant inference I: control flow, Floyd's logic, and Houdini
Nov 9	Invariant inference II: data flow analysis		PSet 5 due
Nov 11	Abstract interpretation.
Nov 16	Algebraic program analysis.	Kincaid, Reps, Cyphert: Algebraic program analysis	PSet 6 due
Nov 18	Software model checking I.	Jhala, Majumdar: Software Model Checking
Nov 23	Software model checking II.
Nov 25	Thanksgiving break
Nov 30	Temporal logic.
Dec 2	Project presentations
Dec 7	Project presentations
Dec 15	Dean's date		Project report due

Grading policies

Your final grade will be weighted as follows:

Component	Weight
Problem sets	40%
Design Project	30%
Midterm Exam	25%
Participation	5%

We encourage you to attend the lectures and to participate actively in the course. These will be components of your Participation grade.

Late policy

Assignments are due at 11pm, with a 1 hour grace period.
Each assignment can be submitted a maximum of 5 days late. Late assignments will be penalized 10% per day late. Penalties for up to four late days are waived. If a student uses more than four late days, late passes will be applied to late work in order of total weight.
In case of special circumstances (e.g., illness, religious holidays, etc.), please write to zkincaid@cs.princeton.edu if you need an extension.

Conduct

For homework and assignments, discussions with others are permitted, where the goal is to aid your understanding. You may similarly make use of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT---for conceptual help only. However, the submitted work/code should be entirely your own.
For code submissions, please also submit a README file where you should name the individuals that you received help from or provided help to. Briefly mention the nature of the help you received or provided.
For the class project, you can work in teams of two. Discussions with your team-mate and with others are permitted.
For any of these (problem sets and class project), please DO NOT copy or get solutions from resources outside the course.
If you have any questions or concerns, please discuss these policies with the instructors.
Conduct during in-class exams is covered by the University Honor Code.