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A process algebraic framework for specification and validation of real-time systems

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Formal Aspects of Computing

Abstract

Following the trend to combine techniques to cover several facets of the development of modern systems, an integration of Z and CSP, called Circus, has been proposed as a refinement language; its relational model, based on the unifying theories of programming (UTP), justifies refinement in the context of both Z and CSP. In this paper, we introduce Circus Time, a timed extension of Circus, and present a new UTP time theory, which we use to give semantics to Circus Time and to validate some of its laws. In addition, we provide a framework for validation of timed programs based on FDR, the CSP model-checker. In this technique, a syntactic transformation strategy is used to split a timed program into two parallel components: an untimed program that uses timer events, and a collection of timers. We show that, with the timer events, it is possible to reason about time properties in the untimed language, and so, using FDR. Soundness is established using a Galois connection between the untimed UTP theory of Circus (and CSP) and our time theory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Informática, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil

    Adnan Sherif & Augusto Sampaio

  2. Department of Computer Science, University of York, York, UK

    Ana Cavalcanti

  3. Software Engineering Institute, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China

    He Jifeng

Authors
  1. Adnan Sherif
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  2. Ana Cavalcanti
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  3. He Jifeng
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  4. Augusto Sampaio
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ana Cavalcanti.

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Dong Jin Song and C.B. Jones

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Sherif, A., Cavalcanti, A., Jifeng, H. et al. A process algebraic framework for specification and validation of real-time systems. Form Asp Comp 22, 153–191 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00165-009-0119-6

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