Sequentializing Parameterized Programs

Abstract

We exhibit assertion-preserving (reachability-preserving) transformations from parameterized concurrent shared-memory programs, under a k-round scheduling of processes, to sequential programs. The salient feature of the sequential program is that it tracks the local variables of only one thread at any point, and uses only O(k) copies of shared variables (it does not use extra counters, not even one counter to keep track of the number of threads). Sequentialization is achieved using the concept of a linear interface that captures the effect an unbounded block of processes have on the shared state in a k-round schedule. Linear interfaces in fact serve as summaries for parallel processes, and the sequentialization compiles these linear interfaces to procedural summaries in the sequential program. Our transformation utilizes linear interfaces to sequentialize the program, and to ensure the sequential program explores only reachable states and preserves local invariants.