In the last years, the investigation on Description Logics (DLs) has been driven by the goal of applying them in several areas, such as, software engineering, information systems, databases, information integration, and intelligent access to the web. The modeling requirements arising in the above areas have stimulated the need for very rich languages, including fixpoint constructs to represent recursive structures. We study a DL comprising the most general form of fixpoint constructs on concepts, all classical concept forming constructs, plus inverse roles, n-ary relations, qualified number restrictions, and inclusion assertions. We establish the EXPTIME decidability of such logic by presenting a decision procedure based on a reduction to nonemptiness of alternating automata on infinite trees. We observe that this is the first decidability result for a logic combining inverse roles, number restrictions, and general fixpoints. 1

We present an algorithm to solve XPath decision problems under regular tree type constraints and show its use to statically type-check XPath queries. To this end, we prove the decidability of a logic with converse for finite ordered trees whose time complexity is a simple exponential of the size of a formula. The logic corresponds to the alternation free modal µ-calculus without greatest fixpoint, restricted to finite trees, and where formulas are cycle-free. Our proof method is based on two auxiliary results. First, XML regular tree types and XPath expressions have a linear translation to cycle-free formulas. Second, the least and greatest fixpoints are equivalent for finite trees, hence the logic is closed under negation. Building on these results, we describe a practical, effective system for solving the satisfiability of a formula. The system has been experimented with some decision problems such as XPath emptiness, containment, overlap, and coverage, with or without type constraints. The benefit of the approach is that our system can be effectively used in static analyzers for programming languages

Abstract. Symbolic model checking, which enables the automatic verification of large systems, proceeds by calculating with expressions that represent state sets. Traditionally, symbolic model-checking tools are based on backward state traversal; their basic operation is the function £¥¤§ ¦ , which given a set of states, returns the set of all predecessor states. This is because specifiers usually employ formalisms with future-time modalities, which are naturally evaluated by iterating applications of £¨¤§ ¦. It has been recently shown experimentally that symbolic model checking can perform significantly better if it is based, instead, on forward state traversal; in this case, the basic operation is the function £�©��§ � , which given a set of states, returns the set of all successor states. This is because forward state traversal can ensure that only those parts of the state space are explored which are reachable from an initial state and relevant for satisfaction or violation of the specification; that is, errors can be detected as soon as possible. In this paper, we investigate which specifications can be checked by symbolic forward state traversal. We formulate the problems of symbolic backward and forward model checking by means of two �-calculi. The �¥�� �- � calculus is based on the £¨¤� ¦ operation; the �¨���� �-� calculus, on the £�©��§ � operation. These two �-calculi induce query logics, which augment fixpoint expressions with a boolean emptiness query. Using query logics, we are able to relate and compare the symbolic backward and forward approaches. In particular, we prove that all �-regular (linear-time) specifications can be expressed as�¨���� �- � queries, and therefore checked using symbolic forward state traversal. On the other hand, we show that there are simple branching-time specifications that cannot be checked in this way. 1

Determinization and complementation are fundamental notions in computer science. When considering finite automata on finite words determinization gives also a solution to complementation. Given a nondeterministic finite automaton there exists an exponential construction that gives a deterministic automaton for the same language. Dualizing the set of accepting states gives an automaton for the complement language. In the theory of automata on infinite words, determinization and complementation are much more involved. Safra provides determinization constructions for Büchi and Streett automata that result in deterministic Rabin automata. For a Büchi automaton with n states, Safra constructs a deterministic Rabin automaton with n O(n) states and n pairs. For a Streett automaton with n states and k pairs, Safra constructs a deterministic Rabin automaton with (nk) O(nk) states and n(k + 1) pairs. Here, we reconsider Safra’s determinization constructions. We show how to construct automata with fewer states and, most importantly, parity acceptance condition. Specifically, starting from a nondeterministic Büchi automaton with n states our construction yields a deterministic parity automaton with n 2n+2 states and index 2n (instead of a Rabin automaton with (12) n n 2n states and n pairs). Starting from a nondeterministic Streett automaton with n states and k pairs our construction yields a deterministic parity automaton with n n(k+2)+2 (k+1) 2n(k+1) states and index 2n(k + 1) (instead of a Rabin automaton with (12) n(k+1) n n(k+2) (k+1) 2n(k+1) states and n(k+1) pairs). The parity condition is much simpler than the Rabin condition. In applications such as solving games and emptiness of tree automata handling the Rabin condition involves an additional multiplier of n 2 n! (or (n(k + 1)) 2 (n(k + 1))! in the case of Streett) which is saved using our construction.

Abstract. We develop an automata-theoretic framework for reasoning about infinitestate sequential systems. Our framework is based on the observation that states of such systems, which carry a finite but unbounded amount of information, can be viewed as nodes in an infinite tree, and transitions between states can be simulated by finite-state automata. Checking that the system satisfies a temporal property can then be done by an alternating two-way tree automaton that navigates through the tree. As has been the case with finite-state systems, the automatatheoretic framework is quite versatile. We demonstrate it by solving several versions of the model-checking problem for §-calculus specifications and prefixrecognizable systems, and by solving the realizability and synthesis problems for §-calculus specifications with respect to prefix-recognizable environments. 1

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Traditionally, model checking is applied to finite-state systems and regular specifications. While researchers have successfully extended the applicability of model checking to infinite-state systems, almost all existing work still consider regular specification formalisms. There are, however, many interesting non-regular properties one would like to model check.

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