Equational Characterization of Covariant-Contravariant Simulation and Conformance Simulation Semantics

Covariant-contravariant simulation and conformance simulation generalize plain simulation and try to capture the fact that it is not always the case that "the larger the number of behaviors, the better". We have previously studied their logical characterizations and in this paper we present the axiomatizations of the preorders defined by the new simulation relations and their induced equivalences. The interest of our results lies in the fact that the axiomatizations help us to know the new simulations better, understanding in particular the role of the contravariant characteristics and their interplay with the covariant ones; moreover, the axiomatizations provide us with a powerful tool to (algebraically) prove results of the corresponding semantics. But we also consider our results interesting from a metatheoretical point of view: the fact that the covariant-contravariant simulation equivalence is indeed ground axiomatizable when there is no action that exhibits both a covariant and a contravariant behaviour, but becomes non-axiomatizable whenever we have together actions of that kind and either covariant or contravariant actions, offers us a new subtle example of the narrow border separating axiomatizable and non-axiomatizable semantics. We expect that by studying these examples we will be able to develop a general theory separating axiomatizable and non-axiomatizable semantics.Comment: In Proceedings SOS 2010, arXiv:1008.190

How to write a coequation

There is a large amount of literature on the topic of covarieties, coequations and coequational specifications, dating back to the early seventies. Nevertheless, coequations have not (yet) emerged as an everyday practical specification formalism for computer scientists. In this review paper, we argue that this is partly due to the multitude of syntaxes for writing down coequations, which seems to have led to some confusion about what coequations are and what they are for. By surveying the literature, we identify four types of syntaxes: coequations-as-corelations, coequations-as-predicates, coequations-as-equations, and coequations-as-modal-formulas. We present each of these in a tutorial fashion, relate them to each other, and discuss their respective uses

On Kleene algebras of ternary co-relations

In this paper we investigate identities satisfied by a class of algebras made of ternary co-relations - contravariant ("arrow-reversed") analogues of binary relations. These algebras are equipped with the operations of union, co-relational composition, iteration, converse and the empty co-relation and the so-called diagonal co-relation as constants. Our first result is that the converse-free part of the corresponding equational theory consists precisely of Kleenean equations for relations, or, equivalently, for (regular) languages. However, the rest of the equations, involving the symbol of the converse, are relatively axiomatized by involution axioms only, so that the co-relational converse behaves more like the reversal of languages, rather than the relational converse. Actually, the language reversal is explicitely used to prove this result. Therefore, we conclude that co-relations can offer a better framework than relations for the mathematical modeling of formal languages, as well as many other notions from computer science

Duality of equations and coequations via contravariant adjunctions

In this paper we show duality results between categories of equations and categories of coequations. These dualities are obtained as restrictions of dualities between categories of algebras and coalgebras, which arise by lifting contravariant adjunctions on the base categories. By extending this approach to (co)algebras for (co)monads, we retrieve th

Discrete equational theories

We introduce discrete equational theories where operations are induced by those having discrete arities. We characterize the corresponding monads as monads preserving surjections. Using it, we prove Birkhoff type theorems for categories of algebras of discrete theories. This extends known results from metric spaces to general symmetric monoidal closed categories.Comment: 13 page

Closure properties for the class of behavioral models

Hidden k-logics can be considered as the underlying logics of program specification. They constitute natural generalizations of k-deductive systems and encompass deductive systems as well as hidden equational logics and inequational logics. In our abstract algebraic approach, the data structures are sorted algebras endowed with a designated subset of their visible parts, called filter, which represents a set of truth values. We present a hierarchy of classes of hidden k-logics. The hidden k-logics in each class are characterized by three different kinds of conditions, namely, properties of their Leibniz operators, closure properties of the class of their behavioral models, and properties of their equivalence systems. Using equivalence systems, we obtain a new and more complete analysis of the axiomatization of the behavioral models. This is achieved by means of the Leibniz operator and its combinatorial properties. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.FCT via UIM