Abstract

We present a type-based technique for the verification of deadlock-freedom in asynchronous concurrent systems. Our approach is to start with an interaction category such as ASProc, where objects are types containing safety specifications and morphisms are processes. We then use a specification structure to add information to the types so that they specify stronger properties. The extra information in this case concerns deadlock-freedom, and in the resulting category ASProc D , combining well-typed processes preserves deadlock-freedom. It is also possible to accommodate non-compositional methods within the same framework. The systems we consider are asynchronous, hence issues of divergence become significant; our approach incorporates an elegant treatment of both divergence and successful termination. As an example, we use our methods to verify the deadlock-freedom of an implementation of the alternating-bit protocol. Address for Correspondence Dr S. J. Gay Department of ...

Citations