ProveEasy: helping people learn to do proofs

Abstract This paper describes an experimental system called ProveEasy for helping people learn to write Natural Deduction proofs in a goal directed style. The proof is an editable text, produced by typing or by pointing and clicking. The intended users are people who write programs, and the representation of proofs is analogous to the usual representation of programs. Emphasis is placed on distinguishing what is given from what is to be shown at each stage. The presentation shows the way the proof was discovered. The work is inspired by type theory proof assistants, but it attempts to hide the difficulties of such powerful systems.