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https://dx.doi.org/10.48550/ar...
Article . 2017
License: arXiv Non-Exclusive Distribution
Data sources: Datacite
DBLP
Article . 2018
Data sources: DBLP
DBLP
Article . 2017
Data sources: DBLP
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A new proof rule for almost-sure termination

Authors: Annabelle McIver; Carroll Morgan; Benjamin Lucien Kaminski; Joost-Pieter Katoen;

A new proof rule for almost-sure termination

Abstract

We present a new proof rule for proving almost-sure termination of probabilistic programs, including those that contain demonic non-determinism. An important question for a probabilistic program is whether the probability mass of all its diverging runs is zero, that is that it terminates "almost surely". Proving that can be hard, and this paper presents a new method for doing so. It applies directly to the program's source code, even if the program contains demonic choice. Like others, we use variant functions (a.k.a. "super-martingales") that are real-valued and decrease randomly on each loop iteration; but our key innovation is that the amount as well as the probability of the decrease are parametric. We prove the soundness of the new rule, indicate where its applicability goes beyond existing rules, and explain its connection to classical results on denumerable (non-demonic) Markov chains.

Keywords

FOS: Computer and information sciences, Computer Science - Logic in Computer Science, Computer Science - Programming Languages, Programming Languages (cs.PL), Logic in Computer Science (cs.LO)

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    78
    popularity
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    influence
    This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
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    impulse
    This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
78
Top 1%
Top 10%
Top 10%
Green
Published in a Diamond OA journal