A Heuristic for Symmetry Reductions with Scalarsets

We present four versions of a new heuristic for coping with the problem of finding (canonical) representatives of symmetry equivalence classes (the so-called orbit problem), in symmetry techniques for model checking. The practical implementation of such techniques hinges on appropriate workarounds of this hard problem, which is equivalent to graph isomorphism. We implemented the four strategies on top of the Spin model checker, and compared their performance on several examples, with encouraging results.

[1]  Somesh Jha,et al.  Exploiting Symmetry In Temporal Logic Model Checking , 1993, CAV.

[2]  Gerard J. Holzmann,et al.  Design and validation of computer protocols , 1991 .

[3]  A. Prasad Sistla,et al.  Utilizing symmetry when model-checking under fairness assumptions: an automata-theoretic approach , 1997, TOPL.

[4]  A. J. M. van Gasteren,et al.  On a Method of Multiprogramming , 2010, Monographs in Computer Science.

[5]  Patrice Godefroid,et al.  Exploiting Symmetry when Model-Checking Software , 1999, FORTE.

[6]  Antti Valmari,et al.  Stubborn sets for reduced state generation , 1991 .

[7]  Antti Valmari,et al.  Stubborn sets for reduced state space generation , 1991, Applications and Theory of Petri Nets.

[8]  Ganesh Gopalakrishnan,et al.  Explicit-enumeration based verification made memory-efficient , 1995, Proceedings of ASP-DAC'95/CHDL'95/VLSI'95 with EDA Technofair.

[9]  D. Bosnacki.  Enhancing state space reduction techniques for model checking , 2001 .

[10]  A. Prasad Sistla,et al.  On-the-Fly Model Checking Under Fairness That Exploits Symmetry , 1997, CAV.

[11]  A. Prasad Sistla,et al.  Symmetry and model checking , 1993, Formal Methods Syst. Des..

[12]  Lars-Åke Fredlund,et al.  Book Review: Design and Validation of Computer Protocols by Gerard J. Holzmann (Prentice Hall, 1991) , 1991, CCRV.

[13]  E. Allen Emerson,et al.  Temporal and Modal Logic , 1991, Handbook of Theoretical Computer Science, Volume B: Formal Models and Sematics.

[14]  Chung-Wah Norris Ip,et al.  State reduction methods for automatic formal verification , 1996 .

[15]  E. Allen Emerson,et al.  Model Checking Real-Time Properties of Symmetric Systems , 1998, MFCS.

[16]  Dragan Bosnacki,et al.  Symmetric Spin , 2002, International Journal on Software Tools for Technology Transfer.

[17]  Edmund M. Clarke,et al.  Model Checking , 1999, Handbook of Automated Reasoning.

[18]  A. Prasad Sistla,et al.  On-the-Fly Model Checking Under Fairness that Exploits Symmetry , 1999, Formal Methods Syst. Des..

[19]  A. Prasad Sistla,et al.  Symmetry and model checking , 1996, Formal Methods Syst. Des..

[20]  E. Allen Emerson,et al.  From Asymmetry to Full Symmetry: New Techniques for Symmetry Reduction in Model Checking , 1999, CHARME.

[21]  Nancy A. Lynch,et al.  Distributed Algorithms , 1992, Lecture Notes in Computer Science.

[22]  Somesh Jha,et al.  Combining Partial Order and Symmetry Reductions , 1997, TACAS.

[23]  Dragan Bosnacki,et al.  Integrating Real Time into Spin: A Prototype Implementation , 1998, FORTE.

[24]  Pierre Wolper,et al.  Memory-efficient algorithms for the verification of temporal properties , 1990, Formal Methods Syst. Des..

[25]  David L. Dill,et al.  Better verification through symmetry , 1996, Formal Methods Syst. Des..