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Symmetry and partial order reduction techniques in model checking Rebeca

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Abstract

Rebeca is an actor-based language with formal semantics which is suitable for modeling concurrent and distributed systems and protocols. Due to its object model, partial order and symmetry detection and reduction techniques can be efficiently applied to dynamic Rebeca models. We present two approaches for detecting symmetry in Rebeca models: One that detects symmetry in the topology of inter-connections among objects and another one which exploits specific data structures to reflect internal symmetry in the internal structure of an object. The former approach is novel in that it does not require any input from the modeler and can deal with the dynamic changes of topology. This approach is potentially applicable to a wide range of modeling languages for distributed and reactive systems. We have also developed a model checking tool that implements all of the above-mentioned techniques. The evaluation results show significant improvements in model size and model-checking time.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CWI, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Mohammad Mahdi Jaghoori

  2. Reykjavík University, Reykjavík, Iceland

    Marjan Sirjani

  3. University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

    Marjan Sirjani & Ehsan Khamespanah

  4. IPM, Tehran, Iran

    Marjan Sirjani

  5. Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Mohammad Reza Mousavi

  6. Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

    Ali Movaghar

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  1. Mohammad Mahdi Jaghoori
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  2. Marjan Sirjani
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  3. Mohammad Reza Mousavi
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  4. Ehsan Khamespanah
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  5. Ali Movaghar
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Correspondence to Mohammad Mahdi Jaghoori.

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Jaghoori, M.M., Sirjani, M., Mousavi, M.R. et al. Symmetry and partial order reduction techniques in model checking Rebeca. Acta Informatica 47, 33–66 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00236-009-0111-x

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