Abstract
A relational specification consists of a state transition system and a set of fairness assumptions. The state transition system is specified using two basic constructs: state formulas that respresent sets of states, and event formulas that represent sets of state transitions. We present a theory of refinement of relational specifications. Several refinement relations between specifications are defined. To illustrate our concepts and methods, three specifications of the alternating-bit protocol are given. We also apply the theory to explain “auxiliary variables.” Other applications of the theory to protocol verification, composition, and conversion are discussed. Our approach is compared with the approaches of other authors.
The work of Simon S. Lam was supported by National Science Foundation under grant no. NCR-8613338 and by a grant from the Texas Advanced Research Program. The work of A. Udaya Shankar was supported by National Science Foundation under grant no. ECS-8502113 and grant no. NCR-8904590. This paper is an abbreviated version of [Lam & Shankar 88].
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Lam, S.S., Shankar, A.U. (1990). Refinement and projection of relational specifications. In: de Bakker, J.W., de Roever, W.P., Rozenberg, G. (eds) Stepwise Refinement of Distributed Systems Models, Formalisms, Correctness. REX 1989. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 430. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-52559-9_75
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-52559-9_75
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