DPO Rewriting and Abstract Semantics via Opfibrations

AbstractThe classical DPO graph rewriting construction is re-expressed using the opfibration approach introduced originally for term graph rewriting. Using a skeleton category of graphs, a base of canonical graphs-in-context, with DPO rules as arrows, and with categories of redexes over each object in the base, yields a category of rewrites via the discrete Grothendieck construction. The various possible ways of combining rules and rewrites leads to a variety of functors amongst the various categories formed. Categories whose arrows are rewriting sequences have counterparts where the arrows are elementary event structures, and an event structure semantics for arbitrary graph grammars emerges naturally

Abstract Graph Derivations in the Double Pushout Approach

In the algebraic theory of graph grammars, it is common practice to present some notions or results “up to isomorphism”. This allows one to reason about graphs and graph derivations without worrying about representation-dependent details. Motivated by a research activity aimed at providing graph grammars with a truly-concurrent semantics, we front in this paper the problem of formalizing what does it mean precisely to reason about graph derivations “up to isomorphism”. This needs the definition of a suitable equivalence on derivations, which should be consistent with the relevant definitions and results, in the sense that they should extend to equivalence classes. After showing that a naive equivalence is not satisfactory, we propose two requirements for equivalences on derivations which allow the sequential composition of derivations and guarantee the uniqueness of canonical derivations, respectively. Three new equivalences are introduced, the third of which is shown to be satisfy both requirements. We also define a new category having the abstract derivations as arrows, which is, in our view, a fundamental step towards the definition of a truly-concurrent semantics for graph grammars

A Compass to Controlled Graph Rewriting

With the growing complexity and autonomy of software-intensive systems, abstract modeling to study and formally analyze those systems is gaining on importance. Graph rewriting is an established, theoretically founded formalism for the graphical modeling of structure and behavior of complex systems. A graph-rewriting system consists of declarative rules, providing templates for potential changes in the modeled graph structures over time. Nowadays complex software systems, often involving distributedness and, thus, concurrency and reactive behavior, pose a challenge to the hidden assumption of global knowledge behind graph-based modeling; in particular, describing their dynamics by rewriting rules often involves a need for additional control to reflect algorithmic system aspects. To that end, controlled graph rewriting has been proposed, where an external control language guides the sequence in which rules are applied. However, approaches elaborating on this idea so far either have a practical, implementational focus without elaborating on formal foundations, or a pure input-output semantics without further considering concurrent and reactive notions. In the present thesis, we propose a comprehensive theory for an operational semantics of controlled graph rewriting, based on well-established notions from the theory of process calculi. In the first part, we illustrate the aforementioned fundamental phenomena by means of a simplified model of wireless sensor networks (WSN). After recapitulating the necessary background on DPO graph rewriting, the formal framework used throughout the thesis, we present an extensive survey on the state of the art in controlled graph rewriting, along the challenges which we address in the second part where we elaborate our theoretical contributions. As a novel approach, we propose a process calculus for controlled graph rewriting, called RePro, where DPO rule applications are controlled by process terms closely resembling the process calculus CCS. In particular, we address the aforementioned challenges: (i) we propose a formally founded control language for graph rewriting with an operational semantics, (ii) explicitly addressing concurrency and reactive behavior in system modeling, (iii) allowing for a proper handling of process equivalence and action independence using process-algebraic notions. Finally, we present a novel abstract verification approach for graph rewriting based on abstract interpretation of reactive systems. To that end, we propose the so-called compasses as an abstract representation of infinite graph languages and demonstrate their use for the verification of process properties over infinite input sets