VSCode-PVS: An Integrated Development Environment for the Prototype Verification System

VSCode-PVS is a new integrated development environment for creating, evaluating and verifying PVS specifications. The environment redefines the way developers interact with PVS, and better aligns the PVS front-end to the functionalities provided by development environments used for programming languages such as C++ and Java.

Latest version

vscode-pvs-1.0.64

Publications

• Paolo Masci and César Muñoz, An Integrated Development Environment for the Prototype Verification System, Electronic Proceedings in Theoretical Computer Science (EPTCS), Vol. 310, pp. 35-49, 2019 [PDF][BibTeX]
• Paolo Masci and Aaron Dutle, Proof Mate: an Interactive Proof Helper for PVS, NASA Formal Methods Symposium (NFM2022), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Springer, 2022 [PDF][BibTex]

Documentation

• Walkthrough on VSCode-PVS
• Quick reference guide for the VSCode-PVS User Interface
• FAQs on VSCode-PVS, including troubleshooting techniques for basic problems.
• Are you new to PVS? Try out our tutorial!
• Join the new PVS group on Google

Requirements

• Linux or Intel Mac
• NodeJS (v12.16.1 or greater) https://nodejs.org/en/download
• Visual Studio Code (v1.49.0 or greater) https://code.visualstudio.com

Installation instructions

VSCode-PVS can be installed from the Visual Studio Code Marketplace or from GitHub.

Note: When installing VSCode-PVS for the first time, the extension will check if PVS Allegro v7.1.0 is present on your system. If PVS Allegro is not present, VSCode-PVS will show a dialog and try to download and install PVS Allegro. Should the extension fail to download and install PVS Allegro, try to download and install PVS Allegro manually from https://pvs.csl.sri.com/. Should everything else fail, please report the problem on the PVS group on Google, we will help you out.

Automatic installation of VSCode-PVS from the Marketplace (recommended)

• Search pvs in https://marketplace.visualstudio.com and select install
  
  

Manual installation of VSCode-PVS from GitHub

1. Download the .vsix file of VSCode-PVS from github.
2. Click on the Extensions icon in the Activity Bar
3. Click on the ... menu in the title bar, and use Install from VSIX to select the downloaded .vsix file
   
   

Installation of PVS Allegro

If PVS Allegro is not already installed on your machine, VSCode-PVS will automatically download and install it. Should VSCode-PVS fail to download and install PVS Allegro, please try the following two steps:

1. Download PVS Allegro v7.1.0 for MacOS or Linux
2. Follow the installation instructions reported in the INSTALL file included in the downloaded PVS package.

Once PVS Allegro is installed on your machine, you can link up PVS and VSCode-PVS by indicating the location of the PVS executables in the VSCode-PVS settings.

Updating VSCode-PVS

VSCode-PVS will be automatically updated every time we publish a new release in the marketplace.

All settings and preferences will be maintained when installing a new release.

If you would like to perform manual updates, e.g., to try out pre-releases, you can download and install the .vsix files posted on the PVS google group.

Functionalities

The main functionalities provided by the environment are as follows:

• Syntax highlighting: PVS keywords and library functions are automatically highlighted.

• Autocompletion and code snippets: Tooltips suggesting function names and language keywords are automatically presented in the editor when placing the mouse over a symbol name. Code snippets are provided for frequent modeling blocks, e.g., if-then-else.
  
  

• Hover information for symbol definitions: Hover boxes providing information about identifiers are automatically displayed when the user places the cursor over an identifier.
  
  

• Go-to definition: Click on the name of the identifier while holding down the Ctrl key to jump to the location where the identifier is declared.
  
  

• Live diagnostics: Parsing is automatically performed in the background, and errors are reported in-line in the editor. Problematic expressions are underlined with red wavy lines. Tooltips presenting the error details are shown when the user places the cursor over the wavy lines.
  
  

• Workspace Explorer: Interactive tree view showing all theories in the current workspace, name and status of theorems and typecheck conditions.
  
  

• Proof Explorer + Prover Console: Interactive tree view for viewing and editing the current proof. A prover console allows interaction with the theorem prover. Auto-completion is provided (using the TAB key) for prover commands, as well as access to the commands history.
  
  

• Proof Mate: Interactive proof helper for suggesting proof commands, sketching proof attempts, and repairing broken proofs. Proof Mate provides a playground for copying, editing, and writing of proof sections without restriction, and during a live proof session.
  
  

• Plot Executable Functions: Executable functions that return a list of real numbers can be rendered in a plot diagram (see examples in helloworld.pvs)
  
  

• Search NASALib: Search definitions and theorems in NASALib, an extensive PVS library developed and maintained by the NASA Langley Formal Methods Team.
  
  

• Prototype Builder: Build interactive visual prototypes to demonstrate the behavior of executable PVS specifications (see also pvsio-web prototype examples)
  
  

Structure

.
├── client                       // PVS Language Client (VSCode entry point)
│   └── src
│       ├── providers            // Client-side service providers
│       ├── views                // User interface components
│       ├── common               // Utility functions 
│       └── pvsLanguageClient.ts // PVS Language Client implementation
├── icons                        // PVS icons theme
├── package.json                 // The extension manifest
├── syntax                       // Syntax highlighting
├── LICENSES                     // NASA Open Source License Agreement
├── Makefile                     // Makefile for building a .vsix image from the source code
└── server                       // PVS Language Server
    └── src
        ├── providers                          // Server-side service providers
        │     ├── pvsCodeLensProvider.ts       // In-line actionable commands
        │     ├── pvsCompletionProvider.ts     // Auto-completion
        │     ├── pvsDefinitionProvider.ts     // Find definitions
        │     ├── pvsHoverProvider.ts          // Hover information 
        │     ├── pvsProofExplorer.ts          // Proof tree editor
        │     └── pvsPackageManager.ts         // Installation manager 
        ├── parser               // Parser grammar and scripts      
        ├── common               // Utility functions           
        ├── pvsCli.ts            // PVS Command Line Interface
        ├── pvsProcess.ts        // PVS process wrapper
        ├── pvsLisp.ts           // Lisp reader for parsing PVS responses
        └── pvsLanguageServer.ts // PVS Language Server implementation

Notices

Copyright

Copyright 2019 United States Government as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. All Rights Reserved.

Disclaimers

No Warranty: THE SUBJECT SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY WARRANTY THAT THE SUBJECT SOFTWARE WILL CONFORM TO SPECIFICATIONS, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR FREEDOM FROM INFRINGEMENT, ANY WARRANTY THAT THE SUBJECT SOFTWARE WILL BE ERROR FREE, OR ANY WARRANTY THAT DOCUMENTATION, IF PROVIDED, WILL CONFORM TO THE SUBJECT SOFTWARE. THIS AGREEMENT DOES NOT, IN ANY MANNER, CONSTITUTE AN ENDORSEMENT BY GOVERNMENT AGENCY OR ANY PRIOR RECIPIENT OF ANY RESULTS, RESULTING DESIGNS, HARDWARE, SOFTWARE PRODUCTS OR ANY OTHER APPLICATIONS RESULTING FROM USE OF THE SUBJECT SOFTWARE. FURTHER, GOVERNMENT AGENCY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES AND LIABILITIES REGARDING THIRD-PARTY SOFTWARE, IF PRESENT IN THE ORIGINAL SOFTWARE, AND DISTRIBUTES IT "AS IS."

Waiver and Indemnity: RECIPIENT AGREES TO WAIVE ANY AND ALL CLAIMS AGAINST THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT, ITS CONTRACTORS AND SUBCONTRACTORS, AS WELL AS ANY PRIOR RECIPIENT. IF RECIPIENT'S USE OF THE SUBJECT SOFTWARE RESULTS IN ANY LIABILITIES, DEMANDS, DAMAGES, EXPENSES OR LOSSES ARISING FROM SUCH USE, INCLUDING ANY DAMAGES FROM PRODUCTS BASED ON, OR RESULTING FROM, RECIPIENT'S USE OF THE SUBJECT SOFTWARE, RECIPIENT SHALL INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT, ITS CONTRACTORS AND SUBCONTRACTORS, AS WELL AS ANY PRIOR RECIPIENT, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. RECIPIENT'S SOLE REMEDY FOR ANY SUCH MATTER SHALL BE THE IMMEDIATE, UNILATERAL TERMINATION OF THIS AGREEMENT.

Contacts

• Paolo Masci (NIA) ([email protected])
• Aaron Dutle (NASA LaRC) ([email protected])