A tool for automated system analysis based on modular specifications

Abstract

An effective means for analyzing and reasoning on software systems is to use formal specifications to simulate their execution. The simulation traces can be used for specification testing and reused, later in the development process, for functional testing of the system. It is widely acknowledged that, to deal with the complexity of industrial-size systems, specifications must be structured into modules providing abstraction mechanisms and clear interfaces. In past work (D. Mandrioloi et al., 1995), we defined and implemented a method for simulating specifications written in the TRIO temporal logic language, and applied it to functional testing of time-critical industrial systems. In this paper, we report on a tool for analyzing TRIO specifications taking advantage of their modular structure, overcoming the well-known state-explosion problem and making the proposed method really scalable. We discuss the fundamental operations and the algorithms on which the tool is based. Then we illustrate its use in a realistic case study inspired by an industrial application. Finally, we comment on the overall results in terms of the usability of the tool and the effectiveness of the approach, and we suggest some future improvements.