MATHEMATICS OF PROGRAMMING.

Abstract

This article contains the text of the speech given by the author at the Boston Museum on the occasion of BYTE's 10th Anniversary celebration. The author expresses his opinion that the construction of computer programs is a mathematical activity like the solution of differential equations, that programs can be derived from their specifications through mathematical insight, calculations, and proof, using algebraic laws as simple and elegant as those of elementary arithmetic. The author claims that such methods of program construction promise benefits in specifications, systems software, safety-critical programs, silicon design, and standards.