Simulation Techniques for Proving Properties of Real-time Systems

Abstract

The method of simulations is an important technique for reasoning about real-time and other timing-based systems. It is adapted from an analogous method for untimed systems. This paper presents the simulation method in the context of a very general automaton (i.e., labelled transition system) model for timing-based systems. Sketches are presented of several typical examples for which the method has been used successfully. other complementary tools are also described, in particular invariants for safety proofs, progress functions for timing proofs, and execution correspondences for liveness proofs.