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Towards an ASM Thesis for Reflective Sequential Algorithms

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Abstract State Machines, Alloy, B, TLA, VDM, and Z (ABZ 2016)

Abstract

Starting from Gurevich’s thesis for sequential algorithms (the so-called “sequential ASM thesis”), we propose a characterization of the behaviour of sequential algorithms enriched with reflection. That is, we present a set of postulates which we conjecture capture the fundamental properties of reflective sequential algorithms (RSAs). Then we look at the plausibility of an ASM thesis for the class of RSAs, defining a model of abstract state machine (which we call reflective ASM) that we conjecture captures the class of RSAs as defined by our postulates.

The research reported in this paper results from the project Behavioural Theory and Logics for Distributed Adaptive Systems supported by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF: [P26452-N15]).

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Correspondence to Flavio Ferrarotti .

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Ferrarotti, F., Tec, L., Torres, J.M.T. (2016). Towards an ASM Thesis for Reflective Sequential Algorithms. In: Butler, M., Schewe, KD., Mashkoor, A., Biro, M. (eds) Abstract State Machines, Alloy, B, TLA, VDM, and Z. ABZ 2016. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 9675. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33600-8_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33600-8_16

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-33599-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-33600-8

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