14,474 research outputs found
Incremental bounded model checking for embedded software
Program analysis is on the brink of mainstream usage in embedded systems development. Formal verification of behavioural requirements, finding runtime errors and test case generation are some of the most common applications of automated verification tools based on bounded model checking (BMC). Existing industrial tools for embedded software use an off-the-shelf bounded model checker and apply it iteratively to verify the program with an increasing number of unwindings. This approach unnecessarily wastes time repeating work that has already been done and fails to exploit the power of incremental SAT solving. This article reports on the extension of the software model checker CBMC to support incremental BMC and its successful integration with the industrial embedded software verification tool BTC EMBEDDED TESTER. We present an extensive evaluation over large industrial embedded programs, mainly from the automotive industry. We show that incremental BMC cuts runtimes by one order of magnitude in comparison to the standard non-incremental approach, enabling the application of formal verification to large and complex embedded software. We furthermore report promising results on analysing programs with arbitrary loop structure using incremental BMC, demonstrating its applicability and potential to verify general software beyond the embedded domain
Pushing the envelope of Optimization Modulo Theories with Linear-Arithmetic Cost Functions
In the last decade we have witnessed an impressive progress in the
expressiveness and efficiency of Satisfiability Modulo Theories (SMT) solving
techniques. This has brought previously-intractable problems at the reach of
state-of-the-art SMT solvers, in particular in the domain of SW and HW
verification. Many SMT-encodable problems of interest, however, require also
the capability of finding models that are optimal wrt. some cost functions. In
previous work, namely "Optimization Modulo Theory with Linear Rational Cost
Functions -- OMT(LAR U T )", we have leveraged SMT solving to handle the
minimization of cost functions on linear arithmetic over the rationals, by
means of a combination of SMT and LP minimization techniques. In this paper we
push the envelope of our OMT approach along three directions: first, we extend
it to work also with linear arithmetic on the mixed integer/rational domain, by
means of a combination of SMT, LP and ILP minimization techniques; second, we
develop a multi-objective version of OMT, so that to handle many cost functions
simultaneously; third, we develop an incremental version of OMT, so that to
exploit the incrementality of some OMT-encodable problems. An empirical
evaluation performed on OMT-encoded verification problems demonstrates the
usefulness and efficiency of these extensions.Comment: A slightly-shorter version of this paper is published at TACAS 2015
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Boost the Impact of Continuous Formal Verification in Industry
Software model checking has experienced significant progress in the last two
decades, however, one of its major bottlenecks for practical applications
remains its scalability and adaptability. Here, we describe an approach to
integrate software model checking techniques into the DevOps culture by
exploiting practices such as continuous integration and regression tests. In
particular, our proposed approach looks at the modifications to the software
system since its last verification, and submits them to a continuous formal
verification process, guided by a set of regression test cases. Our vision is
to focus on the developer in order to integrate formal verification techniques
into the developer workflow by using their main software development
methodologies and tools.Comment: 7 page
Counterfactual Causality from First Principles?
In this position paper we discuss three main shortcomings of existing
approaches to counterfactual causality from the computer science perspective,
and sketch lines of work to try and overcome these issues: (1) causality
definitions should be driven by a set of precisely specified requirements
rather than specific examples; (2) causality frameworks should support system
dynamics; (3) causality analysis should have a well-understood behavior in
presence of abstraction.Comment: In Proceedings CREST 2017, arXiv:1710.0277
The Parma Polyhedra Library: Toward a Complete Set of Numerical Abstractions for the Analysis and Verification of Hardware and Software Systems
Since its inception as a student project in 2001, initially just for the
handling (as the name implies) of convex polyhedra, the Parma Polyhedra Library
has been continuously improved and extended by joining scrupulous research on
the theoretical foundations of (possibly non-convex) numerical abstractions to
a total adherence to the best available practices in software development. Even
though it is still not fully mature and functionally complete, the Parma
Polyhedra Library already offers a combination of functionality, reliability,
usability and performance that is not matched by similar, freely available
libraries. In this paper, we present the main features of the current version
of the library, emphasizing those that distinguish it from other similar
libraries and those that are important for applications in the field of
analysis and verification of hardware and software systems.Comment: 38 pages, 2 figures, 3 listings, 3 table
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