[Programming question]: Determine if code contains an endless loop

[haesleinhuepf]

Write a python program that decides if a program halts eventually or not, depending on the given program code and a given input sequence.

git-bob comment

[github-actions]

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Hi there!

Unfortunately, this is impossible to solve. According to the halting problem, there exists no algorithm that can determine for all possible program inputs whether a program will eventually halt or continue running forever.

The halting problem was proven to be undecidable by Alan Turing in 1936. This means there is no way to write a program that can analyze arbitrary code and determine with 100% certainty whether it will halt or run indefinitely.

@haesleinhuepf please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this is a fundamental computer science limitation.

Best,
git-bob