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Specification-oriented semantics for Communicating Processes

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Summary

A process P satisfies a specification S if every observation we can make of the behaviour of P is allowed by S. We use this idea of process correctness as a starting point for developing a specific form of denotational semantics for processes, called here specification — oriented semantics. This approach serves as a uniform framework for generating and relating a series of increasingly sophisticated denotational models for Communicating Processes.

These models differ in the underlying structure of their observations which influences both the number of representable language operators and the induced notion of process correctness. Safety properties are treated by all models; the more sophisticated models also permit proofs of certain liveness properties. An important feature of the models is a special hiding operator which abstracts from internal process activity. This allows large processes to be composed hierarchically from networks of smaller ones in such a way that proofs of the whole are constructed from proofs of its components. We also show the consistency of our denotational models w.r.t. a simple operational semantics based on transitions which make internal process activity explicit.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Informatik und Praktische Mathematik, Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel, D-2300, Kiel 1, Germany

    E. -R. Olderog

  2. Programming Research Group, Oxford University Computing Laboratory, OX1 3QD, Oxford, UK

    C. A. R. Hoare

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  1. E. -R. Olderog
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  2. C. A. R. Hoare
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A preliminary version of this paper appeared in [42]

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Olderog, E.R., Hoare, C.A.R. Specification-oriented semantics for Communicating Processes. Acta Informatica 23, 9–66 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00268075

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