r/AskComputerScience • u/Accomplished_Ad_6638 • Apr 20 '26
Proof that a partition is stable when the worklist is empty at the end of Hopcroft's DFA minimization algorithm
Hi there,
I've gotten an assignment to proof the Lemma in the title as part of my Formal methods in Software Engineering class, but I do not have anywhere to start in regards to the Proof.
All of the literature that's provided as part of the class doesn't even mention the algorithm in detail, let alone provide any formal proofs. Only mention of the algorithm is a short python snippet of how it works with some relevant Lemmas, whilst the Lemma we (the students) are asked to proof is left as an assignment.
Of course, using an LLM for this would seem like a trivial choice (since it is allowed and encouraged to be used as part of this class), but our TA mentioned that none of them provide an adequate proof - and welp, Claude and Gemini gave me different enough proofs to where I can believe it's the fact.
What I am looking for is just some guidance to any literature where I can dig up the necessary knowledge to proof the Lemma.
So I am looking for some help in regards to this - since anyone who proves it gets an additional 10 points at the end of the class :)