Snapshot Semantics for Temporal Multiset Relations (Extended Version)

Snapshot semantics is widely used for evaluating queries over temporal data: temporal relations are seen as sequences of snapshot relations, and queries are evaluated at each snapshot. In this work, we demonstrate that current approaches for snapshot semantics over interval-timestamped multiset relations are subject to two bugs regarding snapshot aggregation and bag difference. We introduce a novel temporal data model based on K-relations that overcomes these bugs and prove it to correctly encode snapshot semantics. Furthermore, we present an efficient implementation of our model as a database middleware and demonstrate experimentally that our approach is competitive with native implementations and significantly outperforms such implementations on queries that involve aggregation.Comment: extended version of PVLDB pape

Ecological Modelling with the Calculus of Wrapped Compartments

The Calculus of Wrapped Compartments is a framework based on stochastic multiset rewriting in a compartmentalised setting originally developed for the modelling and analysis of biological interactions. In this paper, we propose to use this calculus for the description of ecological systems and we provide the modelling guidelines to encode within the calculus some of the main interactions leading ecosystems evolution. As a case study, we model the distribution of height of Croton wagneri, a shrub constituting the endemic predominant species of the dry ecosystem in southern Ecuador. In particular, we consider the plant at different altitude gradients (i.e. at different temperature conditions), to study how it adapts under the effects of global climate change.Comment: A preliminary version of this paper has been presented in CMC13 (LNCS 7762, pp 358-377, 2013

Clafer: Lightweight Modeling of Structure, Behaviour, and Variability

Embedded software is growing fast in size and complexity, leading to intimate mixture of complex architectures and complex control. Consequently, software specification requires modeling both structures and behaviour of systems. Unfortunately, existing languages do not integrate these aspects well, usually prioritizing one of them. It is common to develop a separate language for each of these facets. In this paper, we contribute Clafer: a small language that attempts to tackle this challenge. It combines rich structural modeling with state of the art behavioural formalisms. We are not aware of any other modeling language that seamlessly combines these facets common to system and software modeling. We show how Clafer, in a single unified syntax and semantics, allows capturing feature models (variability), component models, discrete control models (automata) and variability encompassing all these aspects. The language is built on top of first order logic with quantifiers over basic entities (for modeling structures) combined with linear temporal logic (for modeling behaviour). On top of this semantic foundation we build a simple but expressive syntax, enriched with carefully selected syntactic expansions that cover hierarchical modeling, associations, automata, scenarios, and Dwyer's property patterns. We evaluate Clafer using a power window case study, and comparing it against other notations that substantially overlap with its scope (SysML, AADL, Temporal OCL and Live Sequence Charts), discussing benefits and perils of using a single notation for the purpose

Causal reasoning about distributed programs

We present an integrated approach to the specification, verification and testing of distributed programs. We show how global properties defined by transition axiom specifications can be interpreted as definitions of causal relationships between process states. We explain why reasoning about causal rather than global relationships yields a clearer picture of distributed processing.;We present a proof system for showing the partial correctness of CSP programs that places strict restrictions on assertions. It admits no global assertions. A process annotation may reference only local state. Glue predicates relate pairs of process states at points of interprocess communication. No assertion references auxiliary variables; appropriate use of control predicates and vector clock values eliminates the need for them. Our proof system emphasizes causality. We do not prove processes correct in isolation. We instead track causality as we write our annotations. When we come to a send or receive, we consider all the statements that could communicate with it, and use the semantics of CSP message passing to derive its postcondition. We show that our CSP proof system is sound and relatively complete, and that we need only recursive assertions to prove that any program in our fragment of CSP is partially correct. Our proof system is, therefore, as powerful as other proof systems for CSP.;We extend our work to develop proof systems for asynchronous communication. For each proof system, our motivation is to be able to write proofs that show that code satisfies its specification, while making only assertions we can use to define the aspects of process state that we should trace during test runs, and check during postmortem analysis. We can trace the assertions we make without having to modify program code or add synchronization or message passing.;Why, if we verify correctness, would we want to test? We observe that a proof, like a program, is susceptible to error. By tracing and analyzing program state during testing, we can build our confidence that our proof is valid

Specifying and Verifying Concurrent Algorithms with Histories and Subjectivity

We present a lightweight approach to Hoare-style specifications for fine-grained concurrency, based on a notion of time-stamped histories that abstractly capture atomic changes in the program state. Our key observation is that histories form a partial commutative monoid, a structure fundamental for representation of concurrent resources. This insight provides us with a unifying mechanism that allows us to treat histories just like heaps in separation logic. For example, both are subject to the same assertion logic and inference rules (e.g., the frame rule). Moreover, the notion of ownership transfer, which usually applies to heaps, has an equivalent in histories. It can be used to formally represent helping---an important design pattern for concurrent algorithms whereby one thread can execute code on behalf of another. Specifications in terms of histories naturally abstract granularity, in the sense that sophisticated fine-grained algorithms can be given the same specifications as their simplified coarse-grained counterparts, making them equally convenient for client-side reasoning. We illustrate our approach on a number of examples and validate all of them in Coq.Comment: 17 page