One can write dependently typed functional programs in Coq, and prove them correct in Coq; one can write low-level programs in C, and prove them correct with a C verification tool. We demonstrate how to write programs partly in Coq and partly in C, and interface the proofs together. The Verified Foreign Function Interface (VeriFFI) guarantees type safety and correctness of the combined program. It works by translating Coq function types (and constructor types) along with Coq functional models into VST function-specifications; if the user can prove in VST that the C functions satisfy those specs, then the C functions behave according to the user-specified functional models (even though the C implementation might be very different) and the proofs of Coq functions that call the C code can rely on that behavior. To achieve this translation, we employ a novel, hybrid deep/shallow description of Coq dependent types.

@article{paperbot3280,
  title = {A Verified Foreign Function Interface between Coq and C},
  author = {Joomy Korkut and Kathrin Stark and Andrew W. Appel},
  journal = {Proceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages},
  volume = {9},
  number = {POPL},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1145/3704860}
}