VeriLucid: A Verification-aware Data-plane Programming Language

Abstract

Correctness is important in data-plane programs, which run on critical infrastructure connecting millions of users. Verification helps programmers build correct software, but current data-plane tools can only check simple properties or require immense programmer effort. As a solution, this paper introduces the first verification-aware data-plane language: VeriLucid. The core idea is to unify programming and specification in one high-level language, with built-in proof automation. Integration makes it natural for programmers to use verification continuously throughout development, like unit testing but with strong guarantees. In evaluation, we show that VeriLucid requires 10X less programmer effort, in terms of lines of code, than other verification tools with comparable expressiveness.