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Mike de Vries

Publications and source records attributed to Mike de Vries.

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Unified framework for asymptotically uniform iterative construction of generalised random graphs with local constraints

We develop a unified framework for constructing combinatorial structures under local constraints. Our approach extends the configuration model for random graphs with a prescribed degree sequence, and covers many special cases, including bipartite graphs, directed graphs, oriented graphs, edge-colored (bipartite) graphs, and (directed) hypergraphs. By reformulating half-edge matching as an independent set problem in an auxiliary graph, we identify 2-uniformity, a property characterising when greedy sampling preserves asymptotic uniformity. We classify all 2-uniform graphs and show that only two classes, the configuration space and the bipartite configuration space, have unbounded independence number, enabling the asymptotic regime. Our main theorem then gives the asymptotic sampling distribution and enumeration formulae for configurations, with error terms of order $O(d_{\max}^4\log m/m+d_{\max}^2(\log m)^2/m)$ as the number of edges $m$ tends to infinity with maximum degree $d_{\max}=O(m^{1/4}/\log m)$. This settles the long-standing $O(m^{1/4-\tau})$ bound (for some fixed $\tau > 0$), making the critical exponent explicit. Furthermore, our theorem accommodates forbidden edges, provided that each vertex participates in at most $O(m^{1/4}/\log m)$ of them. In particular, this enables the sampling of edge-colored graphs with prescribed degree sequences for each color class by constructing the colored subgraphs one at a time.

math.PR

Having Fun in Learning Formal Specifications

There are many benefits in providing formal specifications for our software. However, teaching students to do this is not always easy as courses on formal methods are often experienced as dry by students. This paper presents a game called FormalZ that teachers can use to introduce some variation in their class. Students can have some fun in playing the game and, while doing so, also learn the basics of writing formal specifications in the form of pre- and post-conditions. Unlike existing software engineering themed education games such as Pex and Code Defenders, FormalZ takes the deep gamification approach where playing gets a more central role in order to generate more engagement. This short paper presents our work in progress: the first implementation of FormalZ along with the result of a preliminary users' evaluation. This implementation is functionally complete and tested, but the polishing of its user interface is still future work.

cs.SE