Boogie vs HOL4
Boogie
github.comHOL4
hol-theorem-prover.orgSide by side
| Figure | Boogie | HOL4 |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Formal Verification Tools | 8.1 (#7) | 8.1 (#9) |
| Integrations | The repository lists VCC and HAVOC for C, and Dafny, Chalice, Spec#, and Move verifiers as projects built on Boogie. | The maker documents editor support for Emacs and Vim. |
| License | Boogie is licensed under the MIT License. | HOL is free software released under the Modified (3-clause) BSD licence. |
| Purpose | Boogie is an intermediate modeling and verification language used as a layer for building program verifiers for other languages. | HOL4 is a proof assistant for higher-order logic and a programming environment for proving theorems and implementing proof tools. |
| Requirements | Boogie requires .NET and a supported SMT solver. | HOL requires a Standard ML compiler; the installation guide recommends Poly/ML and also lists Moscow ML, with MLTon supported for building tool executables. |
| Support | The project directs users to its GitHub issue tracker to ask questions and report issues. | The community offers help through a mailing list and Zulip chat, while bug reports and feature suggestions go to GitHub issues. |
Plans
In their own words
Boogie
Boogie is a modeling language and tool for building program verifiers for other languages. It accepts Boogie language input, can optionally infer invariants, and generates verification conditions for an SMT solver. Z3 is the default solver; CVC5 and Yices2 support is experimental. The Civl extension lets users model concurrent and distributed systems. Boogie is self-hosted and distributed as a.NET global tool through NuGet. It requires.NET and a supported SMT solver, and the NuGet listing identifies version 3.5.7 as targeting.NET 8.0 or higher. The project uses the MIT License and is free at free. The repository names VCC and HAVOC for C, along with Dafny, Chalice, Spec#, and Move verifiers, as projects built on Boogie. Yices2 has a stated constraint: it works for unquantified fragments such as arrays, arithmetic, and bitvectors, but not for quantifiers, generalized arrays, or datatypes. Users can ask questions or report issues through the project issue tracker, and contributions are accepted through pull requests.
HOL4
HOL4 is a free, interactive proof assistant for higher-order logic, with a programming environment for proving theorems and building proof tools. It supports work that combines deduction, execution, and property checking. Built-in decision procedures and theorem provers can establish many simple theorems, and an oracle mechanism can connect to external programs such as SMT and BDD engines. HOL4 supports higher-order logic and Standard ML, and can produce proof artifacts and counterexamples. It is self-hosted and listed for Linux, macOS, and Windows. A Standard ML compiler is required, with Poly/ML recommended; Moscow ML and MLTon are also supported for building tool executables. Windows installation can use Cygwin or the Windows Linux subsystem with Poly/ML. Moscow ML is another option, but the Windows guide notes that it is slower, lacks some Poly/ML libraries, and cannot run concurrent Holmake builds. HOL includes Emacs modes for syntax display and session interaction, and the installation guide links to Vim plugin documentation. Online materials include a tutorial, quick reference, FAQ, manuals, and generated indexes.