This volume, published jointly with the Association for Computing Machinery, contains the proceedings of the second workshop on Computer-Aided Verification, held at DIMACS at Rutgers University in June 1990. The motivation for the workshop was to bring together researchers working on effective algorithms or methodologies for formal verification (as distinguished from, for example, attributes of logics or formal languages). The theoretical results leading to new or more powerful verification methods include advances in the use of binary decision diagrams, dense time, reductions based on partial order representations, and proof-checking in controller verification.

The general focus of this volume is on the problem of making formal verification feasible for various models of computation. Specific emphasis is on models associated with distributed programs, protocols, and digital circuits. The general test of algorithm feasibility is to embed it into a verification tool and to exercise that tool on realistic examples. This volume provides a look at the latest theoretical advances in this exciting and important area of research.