Deriving correctness properties of compiled code

When developing safety-critical software, it is the correctness of the object code that is paramount. However, it is desirable to perform formal verification on the source program. To ensure that correctness results proved about the source program do apply to the object code, the compiler used can be formally verified. However, care must be taken to ensure that the compiler correctness theorem proved is suitable. We have combined a derived programming logic with a verified compiler for a generic subset of the Vista structured assembly language. We show how correctness properties of object code can be formally derived from corresponding correctness properties of the source program which have been proved using the programming logic. Thus we can be sure the results do apply to the object code. The work described has been performed using the HOL system and so is machine-checked.