3,772 research outputs found
Abstract State Machines 1988-1998: Commented ASM Bibliography
An annotated bibliography of papers which deal with or use Abstract State
Machines (ASMs), as of January 1998.Comment: Also maintained as a BibTeX file at http://www.eecs.umich.edu/gasm
Concurrent Computing with Shared Replicated Memory
The behavioural theory of concurrent systems states that any concurrent
system can be captured by a behaviourally equivalent concurrent Abstract State
Machine (cASM). While the theory in general assumes shared locations, it
remains valid, if different agents can only interact via messages, i.e. sharing
is restricted to mailboxes. There may even be a strict separation between
memory managing agents and other agents that can only access the shared memory
by sending query and update requests to the memory agents. This article is
dedicated to an investigation of replicated data that is maintained by a memory
management subsystem, whereas the replication neither appears in the requests
nor in the corresponding answers. We show how the behaviour of a concurrent
system with such a memory management can be specified using concurrent
communicating ASMs. We provide several refinements of a high-level ground model
addressing different replication policies and internal messaging between data
centres. For all these refinements we analyse their effects on the runs such
that decisions concerning the degree of consistency can be consciously made.Comment: 23 page
A Survey of Languages for Specifying Dynamics: A Knowledge Engineering Perspective
A number of formal specification languages for knowledge-based systems has been developed. Characteristics for knowledge-based systems are a complex knowledge base and an inference engine which uses this knowledge to solve a given problem. Specification languages for knowledge-based systems have to cover both aspects. They have to provide the means to specify a complex and large amount of knowledge and they have to provide the means to specify the dynamic reasoning behavior of a knowledge-based system. We focus on the second aspect. For this purpose, we survey existing approaches for specifying dynamic behavior in related areas of research. In fact, we have taken approaches for the specification of information systems (Language for Conceptual Modeling and TROLL), approaches for the specification of database updates and logic programming (Transaction Logic and Dynamic Database Logic) and the generic specification framework of abstract state machine
Ranking and Repulsing Supermartingales for Reachability in Probabilistic Programs
Computing reachability probabilities is a fundamental problem in the analysis
of probabilistic programs. This paper aims at a comprehensive and comparative
account on various martingale-based methods for over- and under-approximating
reachability probabilities. Based on the existing works that stretch across
different communities (formal verification, control theory, etc.), we offer a
unifying account. In particular, we emphasize the role of order-theoretic fixed
points---a classic topic in computer science---in the analysis of probabilistic
programs. This leads us to two new martingale-based techniques, too. We give
rigorous proofs for their soundness and completeness. We also make an
experimental comparison using our implementation of template-based synthesis
algorithms for those martingales
Finite hypergeometric functions
Finite hypergeometric functions are complex valued functions on finite fields
which are the analogue of the classical analytic hypergeometric functions. From
the work of N.M.Katz it follows that their values are traces of Frobenius on
certain l-adic sheafs. More concretely, in many instances their values can be
used to give formulas for pointcounts of F_q-rational points on certain
varieties. In this paper we work out the case of one-variable functions whose
monodromy in the analytic case can be defined over the rational integers.Comment: 26 pages, 2 figure
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