Exploring the design of an intentional naming scheme with an automatic constraint analyzer

Abstract

Lightweight formal modeling and automatic analysis were used to explore the design of the intentional naming system (INS), a new scheme for resource discovery in a dynamic networked environment. We constructed a model of INS in Alloy a lightweight relational notation, and analyzed it with the Alloy Constraint Analyzer, a fully automatic simulation and checking tool. In doing so, we exposed several serious flaws in both the algorithm of INS and the underlying naming semantics. We were able to characterize the conditions under which the existing INS scheme works correctly, and evaluate proposed fixes.