Formal verification, scientific code, and the epistemological heterogeneity of computational science

Imbert, Cyrille and Ardourel, Vincent (2022) Formal verification, scientific code, and the epistemological heterogeneity of computational science. [Preprint]

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1017/psa.2022.78

Abstract

Various errors can affect scientific code and detecting them is a central concern within computational science. Could formal verification methods, which are now available tools, be widely adopted to guarantee the general reliability of scientific code? After discussing their benefits and drawbacks, we claim that, absent significant changes as regards features like their user-friendliness and versatility, these methods are unlikely to be adopted throughout computational science, beyond certain specific contexts for which they are well-suited. This issue exemplifies the epistemological heterogeneity of computational science: profoundly different practices can be appropriate to meet the reliability challenge that rises for scientific code.

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Item Type:

Preprint

Creators:

Creators	Email	ORCID
Imbert, Cyrille	cyrille.imbert@univ-lorraine.fr	0000-0003-2313-3458
Ardourel, Vincent	vincent.ardourel@gmail.com	0000-0001-8686-7091

Keywords:

Computational science; Code; Software; Formal verification; Scientific practices; Epistemology of science; Heterogeneity in science; Good research practices; Standardization

Subjects:

Specific Sciences > Computer Science
General Issues > Computer Simulation
General Issues > Social Epistemology of Science

Depositing User:

Dr. Vincent ARDOUREL

Date Deposited:

01 Sep 2022 16:58

Last Modified:

01 Sep 2022 16:58

Item ID:

21118

Official URL:

https://doi.org/10.1017/psa.2022.78