Chapter 4 (Part 1):

Induction & Recursion

• Proof Strategy (4.1)

© by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Sixth Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
 Proof Strategy (4.1)
• Introduction

– Provide advice on how to find a proof of a

theorem

– How proofs are constructed

– Method of proof by cases

© by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
2 CS 210 Discrete Structures, Chapter 4 (Part 1)
 Proof Strategy (4.1) (cont.)

• Proof Strategies

– Proof of a statement

• Replace terms by their definition

• Analyze what the hypotheses and conclusions

mean

© by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
3 CS 210 Discrete Structures, Chapter 4 (Part 1)
 Proof Strategy (4.1) (cont.)

– Prove the result using one of the available methods of

proof

– Example: p  q

1. Go from p and derive q

2. Assume q false and p true and derive a contradiction

3. Prove the contrapositive q  p.

© by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
4 CS 210 Discrete Structures, Chapter 4 (Part 1)
 Proof Strategy (4.1) (cont.)

– Strategy of proof of an implication

1. The forward reasoning

– Start with hypotheses

– Use axioms and known theorem with hypotheses

– Use a sequence of logical steps to derive the

conclusion

 This is the most common type of reasoning to prove

relatively simple results.

© by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
5 CS 210 Discrete Structures, Chapter 4 (Part 1)
 Proof Strategy (4.1) (cont.)

2. The backward reasoning

– Start with the negation of the conclusion

– Use a sequence of logical steps to derive the

negation of the hypotheses

Unfortunately, forward reasoning is often difficult to use to

prove more complicated results. We often use backward
reasoning.

© by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
6 CS 210 Discrete Structures, Chapter 4 (Part 1)
 Proof Strategy (4.1) (cont.)

– Example: Prove that the arithmetic mean is

always greater than the geometric mean for
positive real numbers.

Proof: (a + b)/2 > ab

(a + b)2/4 > ab
(a + b)2 > 4ab
a2 + 2ab + b2 > 4ab
a2 – 2ab + b2 > 0
(a – b)2 > 0

since this last inequality is always true if a  b and

since all these inequalities are equivalent, it follows
that
(a + b)/2 > ab (a  b).
7 © by Kenneth H.CS
Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
210 Discrete Structures, Chapter 4 (Part 1)
 Proof Strategy (4.1) (cont.)
– Example: Show that there are no solutions in
integers x and y of x2 + 3y2 = 8.

Proof: when |x|  3  x2 > 8

when |y|  2  3y2 > 8

The remaining cases are those when x takes one of the

values –2, -1, 0, 1 or 2 and y takes one of the values –1, 0 or
1. By computing x2 and 3y2 with all these possible values and
by combining the sum x2 + 3y2, we find that the largest sum is
equal to 7. Therefore, it is impossible for x2 + 3y2 = 8 to hold
when x and y are integers.
© by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
8 CS 210 Discrete Structures, Chapter 4 (Part 1)
 Proof Strategy (4.1) (cont.)

• Conjecture and Proof

– Conjecture: Statement whose truth value is
unknown
• No matter how a conjecture was made, once it
has been formulated, the goal is to prove or
disprove it
• When mathematicians believe a conjecture may
be true, they try to find a proof
• If proofs cannot be found by mathematicians, they
may look for a counterexample
• Few conjecture resist attack for hundred of years
© by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
9 and leadCS to210
the Discrete
development Structures, of new parts4of(Part 1)
Chapter
 Proof Strategy (4.1) (cont.)

– Example:
Conjecture: Do other primes of the special form an –1, where a
and n are positive integers, exist?

26 –1 = 63, 28 –1 = 255
34 –1 = 80, 45 –1 = 1023

 These numbers are not prime!

 We cannot find any primes beside the Mersenne

primes (2p-1)

 We can conjecture that an-1 is composite when a > 2

or when a = 2 and n is composite

10 © by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CS 210 Discrete Structures, Chapter 4 (Part 1)
 Proof Strategy (4.1) (cont.)

Proof: We need to find a factor of an-1 when

a > 2 or a = 2 and n is composite.

an-1 = (a –1) (an-1 + an-2 + … + a + 1)

 when a =2  a –1 = 2 –1 = 1 we cannot
conclude!

 when a > 2  a –1 is a factor of an –1 with

1 < a –1 < an –1  an –1 is not prime.

 when a = 2 and n is composite  r and s with

1 < r < n and 1 < s < n such that n = rs
an-1 = ars –1 = (ar –1) (ar(s-1) + …+ ar +1)
 a r –1 is a factor of an –1.
11 © by Kenneth H.CS
Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
210 Discrete Structures, Chapter 4 (Part 1)
 Proof Strategy (4.1) (cont.)

• Theorem 1:

The integer an-1 is composite when a > 2

or when a = 2 and n is composite

12 © by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CS 210 Discrete Structures, Chapter 4 (Part 1)
 Proof Strategy (4.1) (cont.)

• Conjectures & Counterexamples

– The role of open problems

• One famous problem unsolved for approximately

three hundred years led to the development of an
entire branch of number theory

• This problem asked whether the statement

known as Fermat’s last theorem is true

13 © by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CS 210 Discrete Structures, Chapter 4 (Part 1)
 Proof Strategy (4.1) (cont.)

– Theorem 2:

Fermat’s Last Theorem

The equation xn + yn = zn has no solutions in
integers x, y, and z with xyz  0 whenever n is an
integer with n > 2.

Proof: Refer to Andrew Wiles (Theory of Elliptic

Curves)

14 © by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CS 210 Discrete Structures, Chapter 4 (Part 1)
 Proof Strategy (4.1) (cont.)

– Example: The 3x + 1 conjecture

x
 if x is an even integer
f ( x )  2
 3x  1 if x is an odd integer

When we repeatedly apply the function f, we

will eventually reach the integer 1.

15 © by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CS 210 Discrete Structures, Chapter 4 (Part 1)
 Proof Strategy (4.1) (cont.)

x = 13  f(13) = 3 * 13 + 1 = 40
x = 40  f(40) = 40/2 = 20
x = 20  f(20) = 20/2 = 10
x = 10  f(10) = 10/2 = 5
x = 5  f(5) = 3 * 5 + 1 = 16
x = 16  f(16) =16/2 = 8
x = 8  f(8) = 8/2 = 4
x = 4  f(4) = 4/2 =2
x = 2  f(2) = 1

This conjecture has been verified for all integers x up

to
5 * 6 *
© by 10 13H.. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
16 Kenneth
CS 210 Discrete Structures, Chapter 4 (Part 1)
 Exercises
• Section 3.1:

#6, 8, 10 and 12.

17 © by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CS 210 Discrete Structures, Chapter 4 (Part 1)
 Chapter 4 (Part 2):
Mathematical Reasoning, Induction
& Recursion

• Recursive Definitions (3.4)

© by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Sixth Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
 Introduction

• Define an object in
terms of itself: this
process is called
recursion

19 © by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CS 210 Discrete Structures, Chapter 4 (Part 2)
 Introduction (cont.)

• We can use recursion to define

sequences, functions and sets

• Example: the sequence of powers of 2 is

given by
an = 2n for n = 0, 1, 2, … (explicitly
defined)
a0 = 1; an+1 = 2an for n = 0, 1, 2, …
(recursively defined)

20 © by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CS 210 Discrete Structures, Chapter 4 (Part 2)
 Recursively Defined Functions
• We use 2 steps to define a function
recursively:

– Basis step: specify the the value of the

function at 0

– Recursive step: give a rule for determining its

value at an integer from its value at smaller
integers

– Such a definition
© by Kenneth is called a recursive or 20112)
21 H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics
CS 210 Discrete&Structures, its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill,
Chapter 4 (Part
 Recursively Defined Functions (cont.)

• Example: f defined recursively as:

f(0) = 3
f(n + 1) = 2 f(n) + 3
determine f(1), f(2), f(3) and f(4)

Solution: by definition:
f(1) = 2f(0) + 3 = 2 * 3 + 3 = 9
f(2) = 2f(1) + 3 = 2 * 9 + 3 = 21
f(3) = 2f(2) + 3 = 2 * 21 + 3 = 45
f(4) = 2f(3) + 3 = 2 * 45 + 3 = 93

22 © by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CS 210 Discrete Structures, Chapter 4 (Part 2)
 Recursively Defined Functions (cont.)

• Example: Give an inductive definition of

f(n) = n!

Solution:
Basis step: Specify the initial value of
this function; f(0) = 1.

Recursive step: give a rule for

determining
f(n© + 1) from f(n)
23 by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CS 210 Discrete Structures, Chapter 4 (Part 2)
 Recursively Defined Functions (cont.)
n

 ak of
• Example: Give a recursive definition
k 0

Solution:
0

a k  a0
Basis step:
k 0

n 1
 n 

k 0
ak    ak   an 1
 k 0 
Recursive step:

24 © by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CS 210 Discrete Structures, Chapter 4 (Part 2)
 Recursively Defined Functions (cont.)

• Definition 1:

The Fibonacci numbers, f0, f1, f2, …, are

defined by the equations f0 = 0, f1 = 1,
and
fn = fn-1 + fn-2
for n = 2, 3, 4, …

25 © by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CS 210 Discrete Structures, Chapter 4 (Part 2)
 Recursively Defined Functions (cont.)

• Example: Determine the Fibonacci

numbers
f2, f3, f4, f5 and f6

Solution:
Basis step: f0 = 0 and f1 = 1
Recursive step: fn = fn-1 + fn-2 
f2 = f1 + f0 = 1 + 0 = 1
f3 = f2 + f1 = 1 + 1 = 2
f4 = f3 + f2 = 2 + 1 = 3
f5 = f4 + f3 = 3 + 2 = 5
26 © by Kenneth H.CS f6 =Discrete
f5 + f4 =Structures,
5 + 3 = 8 Chapter 4 (Part 2)
Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
210
 Recursively Defined Functions (cont.)

• Question: How can sets be defined

recursively?
Example: Consider the subset S of the
set of integers defined by:
Basis step: 3  S
Recursive steps: if x  S  y  S  x + y  S.

3  S (basis step)
3  S  3  S  3 + 3 = 6  S (recursive
step)
© by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
27 CS 210 Discrete Structures, Chapter 4 (Part 2)
 Recursively Defined Functions (cont.)
• Definition 2:

The set * of strings over the alphabet  can be defined by

Basis step:   * (where  is the empty string containing no

symbols)

Recursive step: if w  * and x  , then wx  *.

 Example: if  = {0, 1}
Basis step:   *
Recursive step: 0, 1 (0  *, 1  *)
Recursive step: 00 01 10 11  *
28 © by Kenneth H.CS
Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
210 Discrete Structures, Chapter 4 (Part 2)
 Recursively Defined Functions (cont.)
• Definition 3
Two strings can be combined via the operation of
concatenation. Let  be a set of symbols and * the set of
strings formed from symbols in . We can define the
concatenation of two strings, denoted by  recursively as
follows:

Basis step: if w  *, then w   = w, where  is the empty

string.

Recursive step: if w1  *, w2  * and x  , then

w1  (w2x) = (w1  w2) x.

 Example: w1= abra w2 = cadabra

29 © byw 1w2 = abracadabra
Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
 Recursively Defined Functions (cont.)

• Definition 4

The set of rooted trees, where a rooted tree consists of a set

of vertices containing a distinguished vertex called the root,
and edges connecting these vertices, can be defined
recursively by these steps:

Basis step: a single vertex r is a rooted tree.

Recursive step: Suppose that T1, T2, …, Tn are rooted trees

with roots r1, r2, …, rn, respectively. Then the graph formed
by starting with a root r, which is not in any of the rooted
trees T1, T2, …, Tn , and adding an edge from r to each of the
vertices r1, r2, …, rn, is also a rooted tree.
30 © by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CS 210 Discrete Structures, Chapter 4 (Part 2)
 Building up rooted trees
Basis step

Step 1

Step 2

… …
31 © by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
 Chapter 4 (Part 3):
Mathematical Reasoning, Induction
& Recursion

• Recursive Algorithms (4.4)

•Program Correctness (4.5)

© by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Sixth Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
 Recursive Algorithm (4.4)
• Goal: Reduce the solution to a problem
with a particular set of input to the
solution of the same problem with smaller
input values

• Example: Greater Common Divisor (gcd)

gcd(a,b) = gcd(b mod a, a)
gcd(4,8) = gcd(8 mod 4, 4) = gcd(0,4) = 4

33 © by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CSE 504 Discrete Structures & Foundations of
 Recursive algorithm (4.4) (cont.)

• Definition 1:

An algorithm is called recursive if it solves

a problem by reducing it to an instance of
the same problem with smaller input.

• Example: Give a recursive algorithm for

computing an; a  0, n>0

Solution:
©
an+1 = a*an for n>0 a 0 = 1
34 by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CSE 504 Discrete Structures & Foundations of
 Recursive algorithm (4.4) (cont.)

• A recursive algorithm for computing an

Procedure power(a: nonzero real number,

n: nonnegative integer)
if n = 0 then power(a, n):= 1
Else power(a,n) := a * power(a, n-1)

35 © by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CSE 504 Discrete Structures & Foundations of
 Recursive algorithm (4.4) (cont.)

• Example: Give a recursive algorithm for

computing the greatest common divisor of
two nonnegative integers a and b (a<b)

Solution:
gcd(a,b) = gcd(b mod a, a)
and the condition gcd(0,b) = b (b>0).

36 © by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CSE 504 Discrete Structures & Foundations of
 Recursive algorithm (4.4) (cont.)

• A recursive algorithm for computing gcd(a,b)

procedure gcd(a, b: nonnegative integers

with a<b)
if a = 0 then gcd(a,b) := b
else gcd(a,b) := gcd(b mod a, a)

37 © by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CSE 504 Discrete Structures & Foundations of
 Recursive algorithm (4.4) (cont.)
• Example: Express the linear search as a
recursive procedure: search x in the search
sequence
aiai+1… aj.

• A Recursive linear search algorithm

procedure search(i, j, x)
if ai = x then
location := i
else if i = j then
location := 0
38else
© by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CSE 504 Discrete Structures & Foundations of
 Recursive algorithm (4.4) (cont.)

• Recursion & iteration

– We need to express the value of a function at

a positive integer in terms of the value of the
function at smaller integers

– Example: Compute a recursive procedure for

the evaluation of n!

39 © by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CSE 504 Discrete Structures & Foundations of
 Recursive algorithm (4.4) (cont.)

– A recursive procedure for factorials

procedure factorial(n: positive

integer
if n = 1 then
factorial(n) := 1
else
factorial(n) := n *
factorial(n - 1)

40 © by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CSE 504 Discrete Structures & Foundations of
 Recursive algorithm (4.4) (cont.)

• Recursion & iteration (cont.)

– However, instead of reducing the

computation to the evaluation of the function
at smaller integers, we can start by 1 and
explore larger in an iterative way

41 © by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CSE 504 Discrete Structures & Foundations of
 Recursive algorithm (4.4) (cont.)

– An iterative (vs. recursive) procedure for

factorials

procedure iterative factorial(n:

positive integer)
x := 1
for i := 1 to n
x := i * x
{x is n!}

42 © by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CSE 504 Discrete Structures & Foundations of
 Recursive algorithm (4.4) (cont.)

• Recursion & iteration (cont.)

– An other example is the recursive algorithm for

Fibonacci numbers

procedure fibonacci(n: nonnegative

integer)
if n = 0 then fibonacci(0) := 0
else if n = 1 then fibonacci(1) := 1
else fibonacci(n) := fibonacci(n – 1)
+ fibonacci(n – 2)
43 © by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CSE 504 Discrete Structures & Foundations of
 Recursive algorithm (4.4) (cont.)
• An iterative algorithm for computing Fibonacci
numbers
procedure iterative fibonacci(n: nonnegative integer)
if n = 0 then y := 0
else
begin
x := 0
y := 1
for i := 1 to n – 1
begin
z := x + y
x := y
y := z
end
end
{y is the nth Fibonacci
© by Kenneth
44 number}
H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
 Program Correctness (4.5)
• Introduction
Question: How can we be sure that a program
always produces the correct answer?
– The syntax is correct (all bugs removed!)
– Testing a program with a randomly selected
sample of input data is not sufficient
– Correctness of a program should be proven!
– Theoretically, it is never possible to
mechanize the proof of correctness of
complex programs
45 © by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CSE 504 Discrete Structures & Foundations of
 Program Correctness (4.5) (cont.)

• Program verification

– To prove that a program is correct, we need

two parts:

1. For every possible input, the correct answer is

obtained if the program terminates

2. The program always terminates

46 © by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CSE 504 Discrete Structures & Foundations of
 Program Correctness (4.5) (cont.)

• Program verification (cont.)

– Definition 1:

A program, or program segment, S is said to be

partially correct with respect to the initial
assertion p and the final assertion q if whenever p
is true for the input values of S and S terminates,
then q is true for the output values of S. The
notation p{S}q indicates that the program, or
program segment, S is partially correct with
© by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
47
respect to the initial CSE 504 Discrete Structures
assertion p and the & Foundations
final of
 Program Correctness (4.5) (cont.)

– This definition of partial correctness (has

nothing to do whether a program terminates)
is due to Tony Hoare

– Example: Show that the program segment

y := 2
z := x + y
is correct with respect to the initial assertion
p: x =1 and the final assertion q: z =3.

Solution:
© by Kenneth H.pRosen,
is Discrete  x& =
trueMathematics 1  Seventh 2
y :=Edition, z :=2011 3
48 its Applications,
CSE 504 Discrete Structures & Foundations of Mc Graw-Hill,
 Program Correctness (4.5) (cont.)

• Rules of inference
– Goal: Split the program into a series of
subprograms and show that each
subprogram is correct. This is done through
a rule of inference.

– The program S is split into 2 subprograms S1

and S2
(S = S1; S2)

– Assume that we have S1 correct w.r.t. p and

q (initial
© by Kennethand
H. Rosen,final assertions)
49 CSE Discrete
504 Mathematics
Discrete & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
Structures & Foundations of
 Program Correctness (4.5) (cont.)
– It follows:

“if p is true  (S1 executed and terminates) then q

is true”
“if q is true  (S2 executed and terminates) then r
is true”
“thus, if p = true and S = S1; S2 is executed and
terminates then r = true”

This rule of inference is known as the

composition rule.

– It is written as:
© by Kenneth
50 H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CSE 504 Discrete Structures & Foundations of
 Program Correctness (4.5) (cont.)

• Conditional Statements

– Assume that a program segment has the

following form:
1. “if condition then S” where S is a block of
statement

Goal: Verify that this piece of code is correct

Strategy:
a) We© bymust show Discrete that when p is trueEdition,and
51 Kenneth H. Rosen, Mathematics & its Applications,
CSE 504 Discrete Structures & Foundations ofSeventh Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
 Program Correctness (4.5) (cont.)
– We can summarize the conditional statement as:
(p  condition) {S}q
(p  condition)  q

p {if condition then S) q

– Example: Verify that the following program segment

is correct w.r.t. the initial assertion T and the final
assertion
yx
if x > y then
y:= x

Solution:
a) If T = true
52 ©and x>y
by Kenneth
CSEisDiscrete
H. Rosen, true
504 then
Mathematics
Discrete the final
& its Applications,
Structures &assertion
Seventh Edition, y of
Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
Foundations
 Program Correctness (4.5) (cont.)
2. “if condition then S1 else S2”
if condition is true then S1 executes; otherwise
S2 executes

This piece of code is correct if:

a) If p = true  condition = true  q = true after S1

terminates
b) If p = true  condition = false  q = true after S2
terminates

(p  condition) {S1}q
(p  condition) {S2}q
© by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics &
53 its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CSE 504 Discrete Structures & Foundations of
 Program Correctness (4.5) (cont.)

– Example: Check that the following program

segment
if x < 0 then
abs := -x
else
abs := x
is correct w.r.t. the initial assertion T and the
final assertion abs = |x|.

Solution:
a) If T = true and (x<0) = true  abs := -x;
compatible
© by Kenneth H. Rosen,with definition of Seventh
absEdition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
54 Discrete Mathematics & its Applications,
CSE 504 Discrete Structures & Foundations of
 Program Correctness (4.5) (cont.)
• Loop invariants
– In this case, we prove codes that contain the
while loop: “while condition S”

– Goal: An assertion that remains true each time S

is executed must be chosen: Such an assertion is
called a loop invariant. In other words, p is a loop
invariant if:
(p  condition) {S}p is true

– If p is a loop invariant, then if p is true before the

program segment is executed, p and condition
are true after termination, if it occurs. We can
(p 
© by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
write55the rule of inference as:
 Program Correctness (4.5) (cont.)

– Example: Determine the loop invariant that

verifies that the following program segment
terminates with
factorial = n! when n  0.

i := 1
factorial := 1
While i < n
begin
i := i + 1
Rosen,factorial := Seventh
factorial Mc Graw-Hill, 2011*
56 © by Kenneth H.CSE Discrete Mathematics & its Applications,
504 Discrete Structures &Edition,
Foundations of
 Program Correctness (4.5) (cont.)

Solution:

Choose p = (factorial = i!  (i  n))

a) Prove that p is in fact a loop invariant

b) If p is true before execution, p and
condition are true after termination
c) Prove that the while loop terminates

57 © by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CSE 504 Discrete Structures & Foundations of
 Program Correctness (4.5) (cont.)
a) P is a loop invariant:

Suppose p is true at the beginning of the execution

of the while loop and the while condition holds;

 factorial = i!  i < n

inew = i + 1

factorialnew = factorial * (i + 1) = (i + 1)! = inew!

Since i < n  inew = i + 1  n

 p true at the end of the execution of the loop

58 © by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
CSE 504 Discrete Structures & Foundations of
 Program Correctness (4.5) (cont.)

b) Before entering the loop, i = 1  n and

factorial :=1 = 1! = i!  (i  n)  (factorial =
i!) = true
 p = true

Since p is a loop invariant  through the

inference rule, if the while loop terminates
 p = true and i < n false
 i = n and factorial = i! = n!

c) While loop terminates:

Because p is a loop invariant, the rule of
inference implies
© by Kenneth H. Rosen, that& itsifStructures
the while loop
59 CSE Discrete Mathematics
504 Discrete Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
& Foundations of
Chapter 5: Discrete Probability

• Historic
• Introduction (5.1)
• Discrete Theory (5.2)
• Expected Value &
Variance (5.3)

© by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Sixth Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
61
Historic
• The theory of probability was first developed
more than three hundred years ago by Blaise
Pascal for gambling purposes

• Later, the French mathematician Laplace, who

also was interested in gambling defined the
probability of an event

• The probability of an event led to the

development of much of basic probability theory

© by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
Dr. Djamel CSE 504 Discrete Structures & Foundations of
62
Historic (cont.)

• Probability theory plays an important role in

genetics where the goal is to help understand
the inheritance of traits

• In computer science, it is used in complexity

theory (average complexity of algorithms,
expert systems for medical diagnosis, etc)

• Unlike in deterministic algorithms, in

probabilistic algorithms, the output of a program
may change given the same input (random
choices are taken!)
© by Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics & its Applications, Seventh Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2011
Dr. Djamel CSE 504 Discrete Structures & Foundations of