Automated Reasoning for Physical Quantities, Units, and Measurements in Isabelle/HOL

Formal verification of cyber-physical and robotic systems requires that we can accurately model physical quantities that exist in the real-world. The use of explicit units in such quantities can allow a higher degree of rigour, since we can ensure compatibility of quantities in calculations. At the same time, improper use of units can be a barrier to safety and therefore it is highly desirable to have automated sanity checking in physical calculations. In this paper, we contribute a mechanisation of the International System of Quantities (ISQ) and the associated SI unit system in Isabelle/HOL. We show how Isabelle can be used to provide a type system for physical quantities, and automated proof support. Quantities are parameterised by dimension types, which correspond to base vectors, and thus only quantities of the same dimension can be equated. Since the underlying "algebra of quantities" induces congruences on quantity and SI types, specific tactic support is developed to capture these. Our construction is validated by a test-set of known equivalences between both quantities and SI units. Moreover, the presented theory can be used for type-safe conversions between the SI system and others, like the British Imperial System (BIS).Comment: 10 pages, submitted to ICECCS 202

A verification approach to applied system security

We present a method for the security analysis of realistic models over off-the-shelf systems and their configuration by formal, machine-checked proofs. The presentation follows a large case study based on a formal security analysis of a CVS-Server architecture. The analysis is based on an abstract architecture (enforcing a role-based access control), which is refined to an implementation architecture (based on the usual discretionary access control provided by the POSIX environment). Both architectures serve as a skeleton to formulate access control and confidentiality properties. Both the abstract and the implementation architecture are specified in the language Z. Based on a logical embedding of Z into Isabelle/HOL, we provide formal, machine-checked proofs for consistency properties of the specification, for the correctness of the refinement, and for security propertie

TESL: A Model with Metric Time for Modeling and Simulation

Real-time and distributed systems are increasingly finding their way into critical embedded systems. On one side, computations need to be achieved within specific time constraints. On the other side, computations may be spread among various units which are not necessarily sharing a global clock. Our study is focused on a specification language - named TESL - used for coordinating concurrent models with timed constraints. We explore various questions related to time when modeling systems, and aim at showing that TESL can be introduced as a reasonable balance of expressiveness and decidability to tackle issues in complex systems. This paper introduces (1) an overview of the TESL language and its main properties (polychrony, stutter-invariance, coinduction for simulation), (2) extensions to the language and their applications

Verifying a signature architecture: a comparative case study

We report on a case study in applying different formal methods to model and verify an architecture for administrating digital signatures. The architecture comprises several concurrently executing systems that authenticate users and generate and store digital signatures by passing security relevant data through a tightly controlled interface. The architecture is interesting from a formal-methods perspective as it involves complex operations on data as well as process coordination and hence is a candidate for both data-oriented and process-oriented formal methods. We have built and verified two models of the signature architecture using two representative formal methods. In the first, we specify a data model of the architecture in Z that we extend to a trace model and interactively verify by theorem proving. In the second, we model the architecture as a system of communicating processes that we verify by finite-state model checking. We provide a detailed comparison of these two different approaches to formalization (infinite state with rich data types versus finite state) and verification (theorem proving versus model checking). Contrary to common belief, our case study suggests that Z is well suited for temporal reasoning about process models with complex operations on data. Moreover, our comparison highlights the advantages of proving theorems about such models and provides evidence that, in the hands of an experienced user, theorem proving may be neither substantially more time-consuming nor more complex than model checkin

Isabelle/UTP: Mechanised Theory Engineering for the UTP

Isabelle/UTP is a mechanised theory engineering toolkit based on Hoare and He’s Unifying Theories of Programming (UTP). UTP enables the creation of denotational, algebraic, and operational semantics for different programming languages using an alphabetised relational calculus. We provide a semantic embedding of the alphabetised relational calculus in Isabelle/HOL, including new type definitions, relational constructors, automated proof tactics, and accompanying algebraic laws. Isabelle/UTP can be used to both capture laws of programming for different languages, and put these fundamental theorems to work in the creation of associated verification tools, using calculi like Hoare logics. This document describes the relational core of the UTP in Isabelle/HOL