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On the relation between unity properties and sequences of states

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Semantics: Foundations and Applications (REX 1992)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 666))

Abstract

Stepwise refinement of programs has proven to be a suitable method for developing parallel and distributed programs. We examine and compare a number of different notions of program refinement for Unity. Two of these notions are based on execution sequences. Refinement corresponds to the reduction of the set of execution sequences, i.e. reducing the amount of nondeterminism. The other refinement notions are based on Unity properties as introduced by Chandy and Misra. The Unity approach is to refine specifications. Although it has proven a suitable formalism for deriving algorithms, it seems less suitable for handling implementation details. Following Sanders and Singh, we formalize program refinement in the Unity framework as the preservation of Unity properties. We show that Unity properties are not powerful enough to characterize execution sequences. As a consequence, the notion of property-preserving refinement differs from the notion of reducing the set of execution sequences.

This research has been supported by the Foundation for Computer Science in the Netherlands SION under project 612-317-044

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80.089, 3508, TB Utrecht, The Netherlands

    R. T. Udink & J. N. Kok

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  1. R. T. Udink
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  2. J. N. Kok
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J. W. de Bakker W. -P. de Roever G. Rozenberg

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© 1993 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Udink, R.T., Kok, J.N. (1993). On the relation between unity properties and sequences of states. In: de Bakker, J.W., de Roever, W.P., Rozenberg, G. (eds) Semantics: Foundations and Applications. REX 1992. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 666. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-56596-5_48

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-56596-5_48

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-56596-3

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