Simulation of composite I/O automata

Abstract

The IOA simulator is a tool that has been developed in the Theory of Distributed Systems group at MIT. This tool simulates the execution of automata described by the IOA language. It generates logs of execution traces and provides other pertinent information regarding the execution, such as the validity of specified invariants. Although the simulator supports paired simulation of two automata for the purpose of checking simulation relations, one of its limitations is its lack of support for the simulation of composite automata. A composite automaton represents a complex system and is made up of other automata, each representing a system component. This thesis concerns the addition of a capability to simulate composite automata in a manner that allows observing and debugging the individual system component automata. While there is work in progress on creating a tool that will translate a composite definition into a single automaton, the added ability to simulate composite automata directly will add modularity and simplicity, as well as ease of observing the behavior of individual components for the purpose of distributed debugging.