Construction of abstract state graphs for understanding event-B models

Daichi Morita*, Fuyuki Ishikawa, Shinichi Honiden

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Event-B is a formal method that supports correctness by construction in system modeling using stepwise refinement. However, it is difficult to understand the rigorous behaviors of models from Event-B specifications, such as the reachable state space or the possible sequences of events. This is because the Event-B model is described in a style that lists events that have concurrently been enabled depending on their guard conditions. This paper proposes a method that helps in understanding the rigorous behaviors of an Event-B model by creating an abstract state graph. The core of our method involves dividing the concrete state space by using the guard conditions of individual events to extract states that are essential to enable possible transitions to be understood. Moreover, we further divided the state space by using the guard conditions of events in the models before refinement to support understanding of changes in behaviors between the models before and after refinement. Our unique approach facilitated finding of invariants that were not specified but held, which were useful for validation.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationDependable Software Engineering
Subtitle of host publicationTheories, Tools, and Applications - 3rd International Symposium, SETTA 2017, Proceedings
EditorsJi Wang, Kim Guldstrand Larsen, Oleg Sokolsky
PublisherSpringer Verlag
Pages250-265
Number of pages16
ISBN (Print)9783319694825
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017
Externally publishedYes
Event3rd International Symposium on Dependable Software Engineering: Theories, Tools and Applications, SETTA 2017 - Changsha, China
Duration: 2017 Oct 232017 Oct 25

Publication series

NameLecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
Volume10606 LNCS
ISSN (Print)0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)1611-3349

Other

Other3rd International Symposium on Dependable Software Engineering: Theories, Tools and Applications, SETTA 2017
Country/TerritoryChina
CityChangsha
Period17/10/2317/10/25

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Theoretical Computer Science
  • Computer Science(all)

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