Statecharts

This paper introduces a graphical notation called algebraic state transition diagrams (ASTD), which allows for the combination of state transition diagrams using classical process algebra operators like sequence, iteration, parallel composition, quantified choice and quantified synchronization. It is inspired from automata, statecharts and process algebras. Hence, it combines the strength of all these notations: graphical representation, hierarchy, orthogonality, compositionality, abstraction. Quantification is one of the salient features of ASTDs, because it provides a powerful mechanism for modeling an arbitrary number of instances of an ASTD. A formal operational semantics is given. Our target application domain is the specification of information systems, but ASTDs are presented in a generic manner.

Statecharts constitute an executable language for modelling event-based reactive systems. The essential complexity of statechart models solicits the need for advanced model testing and validation techniques. In this article we propose a method aimed at enhancing statechart design with a range of techniques that have proven their usefulness to increase the quality and reliability of source code. The method is accompanied by a process that flexibly accommodates testing and validation techniques such as test-driven development, behaviour-driven development, design by contract, and property statecharts that check for violations of behavioural properties during statechart execution. The method is supported by the Sismic tool, an open source statechart interpreter library in Python, that supports all the aforementioned techniques. Based on this tooling, we carry out a controlled user study to evaluate the feasibility, usefulness and adequacy of the proposed techniques for statechart testing and validation.

Abstract: Simplified statecharts are derived by excluding all redundant constructs of the UML (Unified Modeling Language) metamodel on statecharts. In previous papers we introduced this basic concept and pointed out some interesting applications. We transformed and compacted state machines into serializable objects that clearly highlight their basic constructs and showed how a lot of sparse edges were created during this transformation. Sparse edges contain little or no information (e.g. empty transitions). From this compaction we derived a theory in which state machines are reduced to two distinct partial orderings on states. For the sake of convenience to read this paper, we briefly recapture part of this theory and show the exponentially growing complexity of calculating all possible values of variables that appear on state machine edges. In order to arrive at feasible algorithms leading to practical applications of the implicity complex partial ordering relations we need to redu...

The purpose of this paper is to map the works in the Agent Oriented Software Engineering and Engineering Multi-Agent Systems fields that use the Statecharts paradigm to aid the software development process. We did not only focus on finding out the methods that employ statecharts, but also on identifying the application domains suitable for this kind of modeling. To achieve this goal we researched the available literature. We found out that statecharts are used by numerous methods that target diverse application domains such as robotics, internet agents, simulation, health and safety. Moreover, statecharts have been employed for modeling different things, such as the behaviour of agents, agent plans, agent interaction protocols. We also found reports of real-world systems and applications that were developed using these methods in the last 20 years and we identified trends and common characteristics that they have. Concluding, we have mapped the area where statecharts meet agent oriented methodologies both in theory and practice. Moreover, we provide some exciting directions for future works.

Demonstrating support for state diagrams security issue. New documentation set that broadens UML state diagram documentation. Semantics required in state based security. Model driven security has turned into a dynamic range of exploration amid the previous decade. While numerous examination works have contributed fundamentally to this goal by stretching out famous demonstrating documentations to model security angles, there has been small displaying support for state-based perspectives of security issues. This framework attempts an investigative way to deal with propose another notational set that augments the UML (Unified Modeling Language) statecharts documentation. An online mechanical review was led to gauge the view of the new documentation as for its semantic straightforwardness and also its scope of demonstrating state based security viewpoints. The overview results show that the new documentation incorporates the arrangement of semantics required in a state based security displaying dialect and were to a great extent instinctive to utilize and comprehend gave next to no preparation. A subject-based observational assessment utilizing programming building experts was additionally directed to assess the psychological adequacy of the proposed documentation. The fundamental finding was that the new documentation is psychologically more powerful than the first notational set of UML statecharts as it permitted the subjects to peruse models made utilizing the new documentation much snappier.

Demonstrating support for state diagrams security issue. New documentation set that broadens UML state diagram documentation. Semantics required in state based security. Model driven security has turned into a dynamic range of exploration amid the previous decade. While numerous examination works have contributed fundamentally to this goal by stretching out famous demonstrating documentations to model security angles, there has been small displaying support for state-based perspectives of security issues. This framework attempts an investigative way to deal with propose another notational set that augments the UML (Unified Modeling Language) statecharts documentation. An online mechanical review was led to gauge the view of the new documentation as for its semantic straightforwardness and also its scope of demonstrating state based security viewpoints. The overview results show that the new documentation incorporates the arrangement of semantics required in a state based security displaying dialect and were to a great extent instinctive to utilize and comprehend gave next to no preparation. A subject-based observational assessment utilizing programming building experts was additionally directed to assess the psychological adequacy of the proposed documentation. The fundamental finding was that the new documentation is psychologically more powerful than the first notational set of UML statecharts as it permitted the subjects to peruse models made utilizing the new documentation much snappier.

This paper introduces a graphical notation called alge-braic state transition diagrams (ASTD), which allows for the combination of state transition diagrams using classical process algebra operators like sequence, iteration, parallel composition, quantified choice and quantified synchroniza-tion. It is inspired from automata, statecharts and process algebras. Hence, it combines the strength of all these no-tations: graphical representation, hierarchy, orthogonality, compositionality, abstraction. Quantification is one of the salient features of ASTDs, because it provides a powerful mechanism for modeling an arbitrary number of instances of an ASTD. A formal operational semantics is given. Our target application domain is the specification of information systems, but ASTDs are presented in a generic manner.

This work aims to bring forward the intersection between the world of statecharts and that of agent technology. We begin by disambiguating the different terms related to statecharts, i.e. state machines and finite state automata / machines. Subsequently we review their impact to agent technology, mainly in the area of Agent-Oriented Software Engineering. Our findings are that multi-agent systems modeling has used and, some times, extended the language of statecharts, mainly for modeling agent interaction protocols and for coordinating the different modules of an agent. We conclude with some future directions related to the use of statecharts by the Multi-agent Systems community in the coming years.

At INPE (National Institute for Space Research, Brazil) researchers and software engineers have been using Statechart-based testing for some time to test on-board satellite software. On the other hand, a group of researchers at CIFASIS\footnote{CIFASIS -- French Argentine International Center for Information Systems and Sciences.} and Flowgate Consulting have been applying Z-based testing for unit testing. Both groups started to compare their approaches and tools a year ago. What started as a comparison to share ideas and results, is now turning into the realization that actually both techniques complement and benefit from each other, yielding a more effective and wider Model-Based Testing (MBT) approach. In this paper we present the results obtained so far in comparing and complementing these two MBT techniques.

... of Crete, Greece nikos@science.tuc.gr 2Laboratory of Informatics Paris Descartes (LIPADE) – Paris Descartes University, France {nikolaos.spanoudakis, pavlos}@mi ... The agent development process using the Agent Systems Engineering Methodology (ASEME) is also presented ...

In the area of model based testing, major improvements have been made in the generation of conformance tests using a model checker. Unfortunately, the execution of the generated test suites tend to be rather time-consuming. In [1] we presented a method to generate the test suites with the shortest execution time providing the required coverage, but this method can only be applied to small models due to memory-consumption. Here we show how to generate test suites for a number of different test quality criteria like coverage criteria, UIOs, mutant testing. Moreover, we present heuristics to significantly reduce test execution time that are as efficient as a naive testsuite generation. Our optimization combines min-set-cover-algorithms and search strategies, which we use to enlengthen generated test cases by promising additional coverages. We compare several heuristics and present a case study where we could achieve a reduction of the test execution time to less than 10%.

The development of high-level behavior for autonomous robots is a time-consuming task even for experts. This paper presents a Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tool, named Kouretes Statechart Editor (KSE), which enables the developer to easily specify a desired robot behavior as a statechart model utilizing a variety of base robot functionalities (vision, localization, locomotion, motion skills, communication). A statechart is a compact platform-independent formal model used widely in software engineering for designing software systems. KSE adopts the Agent Systems Engineering Methodology (ASEME) model-driven approach. Thus, KSE guides the developer through a series of design steps within a graphical environment that leads to automatic source code generation. We use KSE for developing the behavior of the Nao humanoid robots of our team Kouretes competing in the Standard Platform League of the RoboCup competition.

^-charts and Z: Extending the Translation Greg Reeve Steve Reeves August 23, 2000 Abstract This paper describes extensions and modifications to lhe ¿¿-Charts as given in earlier papers of Philipps and Scholz. The charts are extended to include a command language, integer-...