333 research outputs found
Model checking Branching-Time Properties of Multi-Pushdown Systems is Hard
We address the model checking problem for shared memory concurrent programs
modeled as multi-pushdown systems. We consider here boolean programs with a
finite number of threads and recursive procedures. It is well-known that the
model checking problem is undecidable for this class of programs. In this
paper, we investigate the decidability and the complexity of this problem under
the assumption of bounded context-switching defined by Qadeer and Rehof, and of
phase-boundedness proposed by La Torre et al. On the model checking of such
systems against temporal logics and in particular branching time logics such as
the modal -calculus or CTL has received little attention. It is known that
parity games, which are closely related to the modal -calculus, are
decidable for the class of bounded-phase systems (and hence for bounded-context
switching as well), but with non-elementary complexity (Seth). A natural
question is whether this high complexity is inevitable and what are the ways to
get around it. This paper addresses these questions and unfortunately, and
somewhat surprisingly, it shows that branching model checking for MPDSs is
inherently an hard problem with no easy solution. We show that parity games on
MPDS under phase-bounding restriction is non-elementary. Our main result shows
that model checking a context bounded MPDS against a simple fragment of
CTL, consisting of formulas that whose temporal operators come from the set
{\EF, \EX}, has a non-elementary lower bound
Probabilistic regular graphs
Deterministic graph grammars generate regular graphs, that form a structural
extension of configuration graphs of pushdown systems. In this paper, we study
a probabilistic extension of regular graphs obtained by labelling the terminal
arcs of the graph grammars by probabilities. Stochastic properties of these
graphs are expressed using PCTL, a probabilistic extension of computation tree
logic. We present here an algorithm to perform approximate verification of PCTL
formulae. Moreover, we prove that the exact model-checking problem for PCTL on
probabilistic regular graphs is undecidable, unless restricting to qualitative
properties. Our results generalise those of EKM06, on probabilistic pushdown
automata, using similar methods combined with graph grammars techniques.Comment: In Proceedings INFINITY 2010, arXiv:1010.611
New results on pushdown module checking with imperfect information
Model checking of open pushdown systems (OPD) w.r.t. standard branching
temporal logics (pushdown module checking or PMC) has been recently
investigated in the literature, both in the context of environments with
perfect and imperfect information about the system (in the last case, the
environment has only a partial view of the system's control states and stack
content). For standard CTL, PMC with imperfect information is known to be
undecidable. If the stack content is assumed to be visible, then the problem is
decidable and 2EXPTIME-complete (matching the complexity of PMC with perfect
information against CTL). The decidability status of PMC with imperfect
information against CTL restricted to the case where the depth of the stack
content is visible is open. In this paper, we show that with this restriction,
PMC with imperfect information against CTL remains undecidable. On the other
hand, we individuate an interesting subclass of OPDS with visible stack content
depth such that PMC with imperfect information against the existential fragment
of CTL is decidable and in 2EXPTIME. Moreover, we show that the program
complexity of PMC with imperfect information and visible stack content against
CTL is 2EXPTIME-complete (hence, exponentially harder than the program
complexity of PMC with perfect information, which is known to be
EXPTIME-complete).Comment: In Proceedings GandALF 2011, arXiv:1106.081
Enriched MU-Calculi Module Checking
The model checking problem for open systems has been intensively studied in
the literature, for both finite-state (module checking) and infinite-state
(pushdown module checking) systems, with respect to Ctl and Ctl*. In this
paper, we further investigate this problem with respect to the \mu-calculus
enriched with nominals and graded modalities (hybrid graded Mu-calculus), in
both the finite-state and infinite-state settings. Using an automata-theoretic
approach, we show that hybrid graded \mu-calculus module checking is solvable
in exponential time, while hybrid graded \mu-calculus pushdown module checking
is solvable in double-exponential time. These results are also tight since they
match the known lower bounds for Ctl. We also investigate the module checking
problem with respect to the hybrid graded \mu-calculus enriched with inverse
programs (Fully enriched \mu-calculus): by showing a reduction from the domino
problem, we show its undecidability. We conclude with a short overview of the
model checking problem for the Fully enriched Mu-calculus and the fragments
obtained by dropping at least one of the additional constructs
Model-checking Quantitative Alternating-time Temporal Logic on One-counter Game Models
We consider quantitative extensions of the alternating-time temporal logics
ATL/ATLs called quantitative alternating-time temporal logics (QATL/QATLs) in
which the value of a counter can be compared to constants using equality,
inequality and modulo constraints. We interpret these logics in one-counter
game models which are infinite duration games played on finite control graphs
where each transition can increase or decrease the value of an unbounded
counter. That is, the state-space of these games are, generally, infinite. We
consider the model-checking problem of the logics QATL and QATLs on one-counter
game models with VASS semantics for which we develop algorithms and provide
matching lower bounds. Our algorithms are based on reductions of the
model-checking problems to model-checking games. This approach makes it quite
simple for us to deal with extensions of the logical languages as well as the
infinite state spaces. The framework generalizes on one hand qualitative
problems such as ATL/ATLs model-checking of finite-state systems,
model-checking of the branching-time temporal logics CTL and CTLs on
one-counter processes and the realizability problem of LTL specifications. On
the other hand the model-checking problem for QATL/QATLs generalizes
quantitative problems such as the fixed-initial credit problem for energy games
(in the case of QATL) and energy parity games (in the case of QATLs). Our
results are positive as we show that the generalizations are not too costly
with respect to complexity. As a byproduct we obtain new results on the
complexity of model-checking CTLs in one-counter processes and show that
deciding the winner in one-counter games with LTL objectives is
2ExpSpace-complete.Comment: 22 pages, 12 figure
Efficient CTL Verification via Horn Constraints Solving
The use of temporal logics has long been recognised as a fundamental approach
to the formal specification and verification of reactive systems. In this
paper, we take on the problem of automatically verifying a temporal property,
given by a CTL formula, for a given (possibly infinite-state) program. We
propose a method based on encoding the problem as a set of Horn constraints.
The method takes a program, modeled as a transition system, and a property
given by a CTL formula as input. It first generates a set of forall-exists
quantified Horn constraints and well-foundedness constraints by exploiting the
syntactic structure of the CTL formula. Then, the generated set of constraints
are solved by applying an off-the-shelf Horn constraints solving engine. The
program is said to satisfy the property if and only if the generated set of
constraints has a solution. We demonstrate the practical promises of the method
by applying it on a set of challenging examples. Although our method is based
on a generic Horn constraint solving engine, it is able to outperform
state-of-art methods specialised for CTL verification.Comment: In Proceedings HCVS2016, arXiv:1607.0403
CARET analysis of multithreaded programs
Dynamic Pushdown Networks (DPNs) are a natural model for multithreaded
programs with (recursive) procedure calls and thread creation. On the other
hand, CARET is a temporal logic that allows to write linear temporal formulas
while taking into account the matching between calls and returns. We consider
in this paper the model-checking problem of DPNs against CARET formulas. We
show that this problem can be effectively solved by a reduction to the
emptiness problem of B\"uchi Dynamic Pushdown Systems. We then show that CARET
model checking is also decidable for DPNs communicating with locks. Our results
can, in particular, be used for the detection of concurrent malware.Comment: Pre-proceedings paper presented at the 27th International Symposium
on Logic-Based Program Synthesis and Transformation (LOPSTR 2017), Namur,
Belgium, 10-12 October 2017 (arXiv:1708.07854
On undecidability results of real programming languages
Original article can be found at : http://www.vmars.tuwien.ac.at/ Copyright Institut fur Technische InformatikOften, it is argued that some problems in data-flow analysis such as e.g. worst case execution time analysis are undecidable (because the halting problem is) and therefore only a conservative approximation of the desired information is possible. In this paper, we show that the semantics for some important real programming languages – in particular those used for programming embedded devices – can be modeled as finite state systems or pushdown machines. This implies that the halting problem becomes decidable and therefore invalidates popular arguments for using conservative analysis
Branching-time model checking of one-counter processes
One-counter processes (OCPs) are pushdown processes which operate only on a
unary stack alphabet. We study the computational complexity of model checking
computation tree logic (CTL) over OCPs. A PSPACE upper bound is inherited from
the modal mu-calculus for this problem. First, we analyze the periodic
behaviour of CTL over OCPs and derive a model checking algorithm whose running
time is exponential only in the number of control locations and a syntactic
notion of the formula that we call leftward until depth. Thus, model checking
fixed OCPs against CTL formulas with a fixed leftward until depth is in P. This
generalizes a result of the first author, Mayr, and To for the expression
complexity of CTL's fragment EF. Second, we prove that already over some fixed
OCP, CTL model checking is PSPACE-hard. Third, we show that there already
exists a fixed CTL formula for which model checking of OCPs is PSPACE-hard. To
obtain the latter result, we employ two results from complexity theory: (i)
Converting a natural number in Chinese remainder presentation into binary
presentation is in logspace-uniform NC^1 and (ii) PSPACE is AC^0-serializable.
We demonstrate that our approach can be used to obtain further results. We show
that model-checking CTL's fragment EF over OCPs is hard for P^NP, thus
establishing a matching lower bound and answering an open question of the first
author, Mayr, and To. We moreover show that the following problem is hard for
PSPACE: Given a one-counter Markov decision process, a set of target states
with counter value zero each, and an initial state, to decide whether the
probability that the initial state will eventually reach one of the target
states is arbitrarily close to 1. This improves a previously known lower bound
for every level of the Boolean hierarchy by Brazdil et al
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