English

Unifying Model Execution and Deductive Verification with Interaction Trees in Isabelle/HOL

Logic in Computer Science 2024-10-31 v2

Abstract

Model execution allows us to prototype and analyse software engineering models by stepping through their possible behaviours, using techniques like animation and simulation. On the other hand, deductive verification allows us to construct formal proofs demonstrating satisfaction of certain critical properties in support of high-assurance software engineering. To ensure coherent results between execution and proof, we need unifying semantics and automation. In this paper, we mechanise Interaction Trees (ITrees) in Isabelle/HOL to produce an execution and verification framework. ITrees are coinductive structures that allow us to encode infinite labelled transition systems, yet they are inherently executable. We use ITrees to create verification tools for stateful imperative programs, concurrent programs with message passing in the form of the CSP and \Circus languages, and abstract system models in the style of the Z and B methods. We demonstrate how ITrees can account for diverse semantic presentations, such as structural operational semantics, a relational program model, and CSP's failures-divergences trace model. Finally, we demonstrate how ITrees can be executed using the Isabelle code generator to support the animation of models.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2408.15817,
  title  = {Unifying Model Execution and Deductive Verification with Interaction Trees in Isabelle/HOL},
  author = {Simon Foster and Chung-Kil Hur and Jim Woodcock},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2408.15817},
  year   = {2024}
}

Comments

41 pages, accepted for publication in ACM TOSEM. Journal extension of arXiv:2105.05133

R2 v1 2026-06-28T18:26:36.610Z