Specification, Simulation, and Verification of Timing Behavior

Abstract

Temporal behavior needs to be formally specified, validated, and verified, if systems that interface with the outside world are to be synthesized from high-level specifications. Due to the high level of abstraction, the work presented in this thesis applies to systems that ultimately can be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination of both. In the area of specification, a generalization of the event-graph specification paradigm is presented. The model supports the expression of complex functionalty using an operational semantics and cleanly integrates structure into the event-based paradigm. Temporal relationships between systems events are specified using a denotational semantics that relies on both chronological and causal relationships to identify the discrete event occurrences bei..