Testing timed systems modeled by stream X-machines

Stream X-machines have been used to specify real systems where complex data structures. They are a variety of extended finite state machine where a shared memory is used to represent communications between the components of systems. In this paper we introduce an extension of the Stream X-machines formalism in order to specify systems that present temporal requirements. We add time in two different ways. First, we consider that (output) actions take time to be performed. Second, our formalism allows to specify timeouts. Timeouts represent the time a system can wait for the environment to react without changing its internal state. Since timeous affect the set of available actions of the system, a relation focusing on the functional behavior of systems, that is, the actions that they can perform, must explicitly take into account the possible timeouts. In this paper we also propose a formal testing methodology allowing to systematically test a system with respect to a specification. Finally, we introduce a test derivation algorithm. Given a specification, the derived test suite is sound and complete, that is, a system under test successfully passes the test suite if and only if this system conforms to the specification

A Queue Model relating Synchronous and Asynchronous Communication

The problem of comparing specifications that use asynchronous communication (Estelle, SDL) with specifications that use synchronous communication (LOTOS) is approached by modelling asynchronous communication in the realm of labelled transition systems using a context. A particular context consisting of two queues, one for input and one for output, is investigated. This queue context is modelled by a queue operator on labelled transition systems. A new equivalence, queue equivalence, is introduced as testing equivalence in a queue context. It turns out that this equivalence can be characterized by sets of traces, instead of by failure pairs, as in the case of conventional testing equivalence on labelled transition systems. A few non-equivalence relations for queue contexts are introduced that can serve as implementation relations. They are related to the implementation relations of failure preorder, trace preorder and conformance

Vegetation persistence and carbon storage: implications for environmental water management for Phragmites australis

Environmental water allocations are used to improve the ecological health of wetlands. There is now increasing demand for allocations to improve ecosystem productivity and respiration, and enhance carbon sequestration. Despite global recognition of wetlands as carbon sinks, information regarding carbon dynamics is lacking. This is the first study estimating carbon sequestration for semiarid Phragmites australis reedbeds. The study combined aboveground biomass assessments with stable isotope analyses of soils and modeling of biomass using Normalized Digital Vegetation Index (NDVI) to investigate the capacity of environmental water allocations to improve carbon storage. The study considered relationships between soil organic carbon (SOC), carbon sources, and reedbed persistence in the Macquarie Marshes, a regulated semiarid floodplain of the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia. SOC storage levels to 1 m soil depth were higher in persistent reedbeds (167 Mg ha−1) than ephemeral reedbeds (116-138 Mg ha−1). In situ P. australis was the predominant source of surface SOC at persistent reedbeds; mixed sources of surface SOC were proposed for ephemeral reedbeds. 13C enrichment with increasing soil depth occurred in persistent and ephemeral reedbeds and may not relate to flow characteristics. Despite high SOC at persistent reedbeds, differences in the rate of accretion contributed to significantly higher rates of carbon sequestration at ephemeral reedbeds (approximately 554 and 465 g m−2 yr−1) compared to persistent reedbeds (5.17 g m−2 yr−1). However, under current water regimes, rapid accretion at ephemeral reedbeds cannot be maintained. Effective management of persistent P. australis reedbeds may enhance carbon sequestration in the Macquarie Marshes and floodplain wetlands more generally