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Formal translation of YAWL workflow models to the Alloy formal specifications: a testing application

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Abstract

Within microservice architecture-based systems, some microservices are integrated to build the software. The integration of these services may be defined based on a workflow model. There are also a variety of different languages available for defining these workflow models. BPMN and YAWL are two such options. It is important that testers test the integration of these microservices. This paper proposes the formal method as the solution for integration testing. This method translates the workflow model to the Alloy. The algorithm has suggested a translation of workflow models to formal specifications. This specification takes into consideration both structural and behavioral aspects. The first perspective is about general structures, while the second is about the behavior of the objects in a specific model. We have proved the correctness of the suggested specifications. For this purpose, the paper has shown that formal definitions are sound and are complete with nine theorems for these properties. The translation from YAWL to Alloy is defined based on their BNF grammar. The generated model is an appropriate source for different purposes containing software testing. The suggested method for software testing is model-driven testing. Logical predicates define the structure of Alloy models. This method uses these logical predicates for generating tests. The test method has used RACC coverage as an example criterion. Alloy Analyzer tests the model by generating test predicates.

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  1. Satisfiability Problem.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

    Mehran Rivadeh & Seyed-Hassan Mirian-Hosseinabadi

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  1. Mehran Rivadeh
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  2. Seyed-Hassan Mirian-Hosseinabadi
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Correspondence to Seyed-Hassan Mirian-Hosseinabadi.

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Communicated by Kevin Lano.

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Rivadeh, M., Mirian-Hosseinabadi, SH. Formal translation of YAWL workflow models to the Alloy formal specifications: a testing application. Softw Syst Model 22, 941–968 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10270-022-01043-8

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