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On the Containment Problem for Deterministic Multicounter Machine Models

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Automated Technology for Verification and Analysis (ATVA 2023)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 14215))

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Abstract

A new model of one-way multicounter machines is introduced. In this model, within each transition, testing the counter status of a counter is optional, rather than existing models where they are always either required (traditional multicounter machines) or no status can be checked (partially-blind multicounter machines). If, in every accepting computation, each counter has a bounded number of sections that decrease that counter where its status is tested, then the machine is called finite-testable. One-way nondeterministic finite-testable multicounter machines are shown to be equivalent to partially-blind multicounter machines, which, in turn, are known to be equivalent to Petri net languages and languages defined by vector addition systems with states. However, one-way deterministic finite-testable multicounter machines are strictly more general than deterministic partially-blind machines. Moreover, they also properly include deterministic reversal-bounded multicounter machines (unlike deterministic partially-blind multicounter machines). Interestingly, one-way deterministic finite-testable multicounter machines are shown to have a decidable containment problem (“given two machines \(M_1,M_2\), is \(L(M_1) \subseteq L(M_2)\)?”). This makes it the most general known model where this problem is decidable. We also study properties of their reachability sets.

The research of I. McQuillan was supported, in part, by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA

    Oscar H. Ibarra

  2. Department of Computer Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5A9, Canada

    Ian McQuillan

Authors
  1. Oscar H. Ibarra
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  2. Ian McQuillan
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Correspondence to Ian McQuillan .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, Villetaneuse, France

    Étienne André

  2. Singapore Management University, Singapore, Singapore

    Jun Sun

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Ibarra, O.H., McQuillan, I. (2023). On the Containment Problem for Deterministic Multicounter Machine Models. In: André, É., Sun, J. (eds) Automated Technology for Verification and Analysis. ATVA 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14215. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-45329-8_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-45329-8_4

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-45329-8

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