Abstract
We propose a methodology for verifying specifications written in AbC, a process calculus for collective systems with a novel communication mechanism relying on predicates over attributes exposed by the components. We emulate the execution of AbC actions and the operators that compose them as programs where guarded sequential functions are non-deterministically invoked; specifically, we translate AbC specifications into sequential C programs. This enables us to use state-of-the-art bounded model checkers for verifying properties of AbC systems. To vindicate our approach, we consider different case studies from different areas and model them as AbC systems, then we translate these AbC specifications into C and instrument the resulting program for verification, finally we perform actual verification of properties of interest.
This work is partially funded by MIUR project PRIN 2017FTXR7S IT MATTERS (Methods and Tools for Trustworthy Smart Systems).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Anderson, S., Bredeche, N., Eiben, A., Kampis, G., van Steen, M.: Adaptive collective systems: herding black sheep. In: BookSprints for ICT Research (2013)
De Nicola, R., Jähnichen, S., Wirsing, M.: Rigorous engineering of collective adaptive systems: special section. Int. J. Softw. Tools Technol. Transf. 22(4), 389–397 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10009-020-00565-0
De Nicola, R., Ferrari, G.L., Pugliese, R., Tiezzi, F.: A formal approach to the engineering of domain-specific distributed systems. J. Logic Algebraic Methods Program. 111, 100511 (2020)
Abd Alrahman, Y., De Nicola, R., Loreti, M.: A calculus for collective-adaptive systems and its behavioural theory. Inf. Comput. 268, 104457 (2019)
De Nicola, R., Loreti, M., Pugliese, R., Tiezzi, F.: A formal approach to autonomic systems programming: the SCEL language. ACM Trans. Auton. Adapt. Syst. 9(2), 7:1–7:29 (2014)
Ene, C., Muntean, T.: A broadcast-based calculus for communicating systems. In: IPDPS, p. 149. IEEE Computer Society (2001)
Clarke, E., Kroening, D., Lerda, F.: A tool for checking ANSI-C programs. In: Jensen, K., Podelski, A. (eds.) TACAS 2004. LNCS, vol. 2988, pp. 168–176. Springer, Heidelberg (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-24730-2_15
Gadelha, M.Y.R., Monteiro, F.R., Morse, J., Cordeiro, L.C., Fischer, B., Nicole, D.A.: ESBMC 5.0: an industrial-strength C model checker. In: ASE, pp. 888–891. ACM (2018)
Lampson, B., Sturgis, H.E.: Crash recovery in a distributed data storage system (1979). https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/publication/crash-recovery-in-a-distributed-data-storage-system/
Abd Alrahman, Y., De Nicola, R., Loreti, M.: Programming interactions in collective adaptive systems by relying on attribute-based communication. Sci. Comput. Program. 192, 102428 (2020)
De Nicola, R., Duong, T., Inverso, O., Mazzanti, F.: Verifying properties of systems relying on attribute-based communication. In: Katoen, J.-P., Langerak, R., Rensink, A. (eds.) ModelEd, TestEd, TrustEd. LNCS, vol. 10500, pp. 169–190. Springer, Cham (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68270-9_9
De Nicola, R., Di Stefano, L., Inverso, O.: Multi-agent systems with virtual stigmergy. Sci. Comput. Program. 187, 102345 (2020)
Biere, A., Artho, C., Schuppan, V.: Liveness checking as safety checking. Electron. Notes Theor. Comput. Sci. 66(2), 160–177 (2002)
Prasad, K.V.S.: Programming with broadcasts. In: Best, E. (ed.) CONCUR 1993. LNCS, vol. 715, pp. 173–187. Springer, Heidelberg (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-57208-2_13
Aspnes, J., Ruppert, E.: An introduction to population protocols. In: Garbinato, B., Miranda, H., Rodrigues, L. (eds.) Middleware for Network Eccentric and Mobile Applications, pp. 97–120. Springer, Heidelberg (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-89707-1_5
Esparza, J., Ganty, P., Leroux, J., Majumdar, R.: Verification of population protocols. In: CONCUR. LIPIcs, vol. 42, pp. 470–482. Schloss Dagstuhl - Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2015)
ter Beek, M.H., Fantechi, A., Gnesi, S., Mazzanti, F.: A state/event-based model-checking approach for the analysis of abstract system properties. Sci. Comput. Program. 76(2), 119–135 (2011)
De Nicola, R., et al.: Programming and verifying component ensembles. In: Bensalem, S., Lakhneck, Y., Legay, A. (eds.) ETAPS 2014. LNCS, vol. 8415, pp. 69–83. Springer, Heidelberg (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54848-2_5
Inverso, O., Trubiani, C.: Parallel and distributed bounded model checking of multi-threaded programs. In: PPoPP, pp. 202–216. ACM (2020)
Kroening, D., Ouaknine, J., Strichman, O., Wahl, T., Worrell, J.: Linear completeness thresholds for bounded model checking. In: Gopalakrishnan, G., Qadeer, S. (eds.) CAV 2011. LNCS, vol. 6806, pp. 557–572. Springer, Heidelberg (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-22110-1_44
Loreti, M., Hillston, J.: Modelling and analysis of collective adaptive systems with CARMA and its tools. In: Bernardo, M., De Nicola, R., Hillston, J. (eds.) SFM 2016. LNCS, vol. 9700, pp. 83–119. Springer, Cham (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-34096-8_4
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
De Nicola, R., Duong, T., Inverso, O. (2020). Verifying AbC Specifications via Emulation. In: Margaria, T., Steffen, B. (eds) Leveraging Applications of Formal Methods, Verification and Validation: Engineering Principles. ISoLA 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12477. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61470-6_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61470-6_16
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-61469-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-61470-6
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)