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Arend Rensink

Publications and source records attributed to Arend Rensink.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

Structural Morphisms for Nested Conditions - Full Version

Nested conditions are used, among other things, as a graphical way to express first order formulas ruling the applicability of a graph transformation rule to a given match. In this paper, we first introduce several operators on conditions mimicking logical connectives. Next we propose an original notion of structural morphism among nested conditions, and we identify circumstances under which morphisms are consistent with the entailment of the corresponding conditions. Finally we frame the results in a categorical context, proving functoriality and universality properties of the various operations.

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arXiv2026

Visualising CTL Witnesses and Counterexamples -- Extended Version

One of the advantages of LTL over CTL is that the notion of a counterexample is easy to grasp, visualise and process: it is a trace that violates the property at hand. In this paper we propose a notion of evidence for CTL properties on explicit-state models -- which equally serves as witness for satisfied properties and counterexample for violated ones -- and how to visualise it, with the main aim of (human) comprehension. The main contribution consists of a formal model of evidence, a characterisation of minimal evidence per temporal operator, and a concrete, implemented proposal for its visualisation. This is the extended version of a paper published in SPIN 2026, containing the proofs of all results.

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arXiv2026

Disjunction Composition of BDD Transition Systems for Model-Based Testing

We introduce a compositional approach to model-based test generation in Behavior-Driven Development (BDD). BDD is an agile methodology in which system behavior is specified through textual scenarios that, in our approach, are translated into transition systems used for model-based testing. This paper formally defines disjunction composition, to combine BDD transition systems that represent alternative system behaviors. Disjunction composition allows for modeling and testing the integrated behavior while ensuring that the testing power of the original set of scenarios is preserved. This is proved using a symbolic semantics for BDD transition systems, with the property that the symbolic equivalence of two BDD transition systems guarantees that they fail the same test cases. Also, we demonstrate the potential of disjunction composition by applying the composition in an industrial case study.

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arXiv2025

Counterexample-Guided Abstraction Refinement for Generalized Graph Transformation Systems (Full Version)

This paper addresses the following verification task: Given a graph transformation system and a class of initial graphs, can we guarantee (non-)reachability of a given other class of graphs that characterizes bad or erroneous states? Both initial and bad states are characterized by nested conditions (having first-order expressive power). Such systems typically have an infinite state space, causing the problem to be undecidable. We use abstract interpretation to obtain a finite approximation of that state space, and employ counter-example guided abstraction refinement to iteratively obtain suitable predicates for automated verification. Although our primary application is the analysis of graph transformation systems, we state our result in the general setting of reactive systems.

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arXiv2024

On Categories of Nested Conditions

Nested conditions are used, among other things, as a graphical way to express first order formulas ruling the applicability of a graph transformation rule to a given match. In this paper, we propose (for the first time) a notion of structural morphism among nested conditions, consistent with the entailment of the corresponding formulas. This reveals a structural weakness of the existing definition of nested conditions, which we overcome by proposing a new notion of span-based nested conditions, embedding the original ones. We also introduce morphisms for the latter, showing that those form a richer structure by organising the various models in a number of categories suitably related by functors.

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arXiv2019

Rewriting Abstract Structures: Materialization Explained Categorically

The paper develops an abstract (over-approximating) semantics for double-pushout rewriting of graphs and graph-like objects. The focus is on the so-called materialization of left-hand sides from abstract graphs, a central concept in previous work. The first contribution is an accessible, general explanation of how materializations arise from universal properties and categorical constructions, in particular partial map classifiers, in a topos. Second, we introduce an extension by enriching objects with annotations and give a precise characterization of strongest post-conditions, which are effectively computable under certain assumptions.

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arXiv2017

A Model-Derivation Framework for Software Analysis

Model-based verification allows to express behavioral correctness conditions like the validity of execution states, boundaries of variables or timing at a high level of abstraction and affirm that they are satisfied by a software system. However, this requires expressive models which are difficult and cumbersome to create and maintain by hand. This paper presents a framework that automatically derives behavioral models from real-sized Java programs. Our framework builds on the EMF/ECore technology and provides a tool that creates an initial model from Java bytecode, as well as a series of transformations that simplify the model and eventually output a timed-automata model that can be processed by a model checker such as UPPAAL. The framework has the following properties: (1) consistency of models with software, (2) extensibility of the model derivation process, (3) scalability and (4) expressiveness of models. We report several case studies to validate how our framework satisfies these properties.

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arXiv2015

Proceedings Graphs as Models

This volume contains the proceedings of the (first) Graphs as Models (GaM) 2015 workshop, held on 10-11 April 2015 in London, U.K., as a satellite workshop of ETAPS 2015, the European Joint Conferences on Theory and Practice of Software. This new workshop combines the strengths of two pre-existing workshop series: GT-VMT (Graph Transformation and Visual Modelling Techniques) and GRAPHITE (Graph Inspection and Traversal Engineering). Graphs are used as models in all areas of computer science: examples are state space graphs, control flow graphs, syntax graphs, UML-type models of all kinds, network layouts, social networks, dependency graphs, and so forth. Used to model a particular phenomenon or process, graphs are then typically analysed to find out properties of the modelled subject, or transformed to construct other types of models. The workshop aimed at attracting and stimulating research on the techniques for graph analysis, inspection and transformation, on a general level rather than in any specific domain. In total, we received 15 submissions covering several different areas. Of these 15 submissions, nine were eventually accepted and appear in this volume.

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arXiv2014

Graph- versus Vector-Based Analysis of a Consensus Protocol

The Paxos distributed consensus algorithm is a challenging case-study for standard, vector-based model checking techniques. Due to asynchronous communication, exhaustive analysis may generate very large state spaces already for small model instances. In this paper, we show the advantages of graph transformation as an alternative modelling technique. We model Paxos in a rich declarative transformation language, featuring (among other things) nested quantifiers, and we validate our model using the GROOVE model checker, a graph-based tool that exploits isomorphism as a natural way to prune the state space via symmetry reductions. We compare the results with those obtained by the standard model checker Spin on the basis of a vector-based encoding of the algorithm.

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arXiv2013

Class Diagram Restructuring with GROOVE

This paper describes the GROOVE solution to the "Class Diagram Restructuring" case study of the Tool Transformation Contest 2013. We show that the visual rule formalism enables the required restructuring to be formulated in a very concise manner. Moreover, the GROOVE functionality for state space exploration allows checking confluence. Performance-wise, however, the solution does not scale well.

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arXiv2012

Graph Subsumption in Abstract State Space Exploration

In this paper we present the extension of an existing method for abstract graph-based state space exploration, called neighbourhood abstraction, with a reduction technique based on subsumption. Basically, one abstract state subsumes another when it covers more concrete states; in such a case, the subsumed state need not be included in the state space, thus giving a reduction. We explain the theory and especially also report on a number of experiments, which show that subsumption indeed drastically reduces both the state space and the resources (time and memory) needed to compute it.

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arXiv2011

Solving the TTC 2011 Compiler Optimization Case with GROOVE

This report presents a partial solution to the Compiler Optimization case study using GROOVE. We explain how the input graphs provided with the case study were adapted into a GROOVE representation and we describe an initial solution for Task 1. This solution allows us to automatically reproduce the steps of the constant folding example given in the case description. We did not solve Task 2.

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