Strictification

Strictification is a term used in formal methods and programming language theory to describe the process of making a system or specification more precise or rigid. This often involves removing ambiguities, eliminating non-determinism, or strengthening constraints. The goal of strictification is typically to improve the analyzability, verifiability, or predictable behavior of a system.

In the context of formal verification, strictification can be a crucial step. A more precise specification allows for more powerful analysis techniques to be applied, potentially uncovering errors or proving properties that would be difficult or impossible with a less strict description. For example, a non-deterministic choice in a system's behavior might be replaced with a deterministic outcome to simplify reasoning about its state transitions.

Strictification can also be relevant in programming language design. Introducing stricter type systems or more rigorous rules for program execution can lead to safer and more reliable software. This might involve making implicit type conversions explicit, enforcing stricter memory management rules, or defining more precise semantics for language constructs. The trade-off is often increased complexity in writing or understanding the code, but the benefits in terms of robustness and maintainability can be significant. The process generally involves a systematic transformation from a less constrained representation to a more constrained one, preserving the essential intended behavior while making it unambiguous.