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1\part{Language}
2\label{part:lang}
3
4\chapter{Overview of CIVL-C}
5
6\section{Main Concepts}
7
8CIVL-C is an extension of a subset of the C11 dialect of C. It
9includes the most commonly-used elements of C, including most of the
10syntax, types, expressions, and statements. Missing are some of the
11more esoteric type qualifiers, bitwise operations (at least for now),
12and much of the standard library. Moreover, none of the C11 language
13elements dealing with concurrency are included, as CIVL-C has its own
14concurrency primitives.
15
16The keywords in CIVL-C not already in C begin with the symbol \cckey.
17This makes them readily identifiable and also prevents any naming
18conflicts with identifiers in C programs. This means that most legal
19C programs will also be legal CIVL-C programs.
20
21One of the most important features of CIVL-C not found in standard C
22is the ability to define functions in any scope. (Standard C allows
23function definitions only in the file scope.) This feature is also
24found in GNU C, the GNU extension of C.
25
26Another central CIVL-C feature is the ability to \emph{spawn}
27functions, i.e., run the function in a new \emph{process} (thread).
28
29\emph{Scopes} and \emph{processes} are the two central themes of
30CIVL-C. Each has a static and a dynamic aspect. The static scopes
31correspond to the lexical scopes in the program---typically, regions
32delimited by curly braces \lb \ldots \rb. At runtime, these scopes
33are \emph{instantiated} when control in a process reaches the
34beginning of the scope. Processes are created dynamically by
35\emph{spawning} functions; hence the functions are the static
36representation of processes.
37
38\section{Example Illustrating Scopes and Processes}
39
40To understand the static and dynamic nature of scopes and processes,
41and the relations between them, we consider the (artificial) example
42code of Figure \ref{fig:scopecodeex}. The static scopes in the scope
43are numbered from $0$ to $6$.
44
45\begin{figure}[t]
46 \centering
47 \includegraphics[scale=1.2]{scopeCodeExample}
48 \caption{CIVL-C code skeleton to illustrate scope hierarchy}
49 \label{fig:scopecodeex}
50\end{figure}
51
52\begin{figure}
53 \centering
54 \includegraphics[scale=1.2]{scopeStateExample}
55 \caption{Static scope tree and a state for example program}
56 \label{fig:scopestateex}
57\end{figure}
58
59The static scopes have a tree structure: one scope is a child of
60another if the first is immediately contained in the second. Scope 0,
61which is the file scope (or \emph{root} scope) is the root of this
62tree. The static scope tree is depicted in Figure
63\ref{fig:scopestateex} (left). Each scope is identified by its
64integer ID. Additionally, if the scope happens to be the scope of a
65function definition, the name of the function is included in this
66identifier. A node in this tree also shows the variables and
67functions declared in the scope. For brevity, we omit the \emph{proc}
68variables.
69
70We now look at what happens when this program executes. Figure
71\ref{fig:scopestateex} (right) illustrates a possible state of the
72program at one point in an execution. We now explain how
73this state is arrived at.
74
75First, there is an implicit \emph{root function} placed around the
76entire code. The body of the \emph{main} function becomes the body
77of the root function, and the \emph{main} function itself disappears.
78This minor transformation does not change the structure of the scope
79tree.
80
81Execution begins by spawning a process $p_0$ to execute the root
82function. This causes scope $0$ to be instantiated. An instance of a
83static scope is known as a \emph{dynamic scope}, or \emph{dyscopes}
84for short. The dynamic scopes are represented by the ovals with
85double borders on the right side of Figure \ref{fig:scopestateex}.
86Each dyscope specifies a value for every variable declared in the
87corresponding static scope. In this case, the value $3$ has been
88assigned to variable \texttt{x}.
89
90The state of process $p_0$ is represented by a \emph{call stack}
91(green). The entries on this stack are \emph{activation frames}.
92Each frame contains two data: a reference to a dyscope (indicated by
93blue arrows) and a current location (or programmer counter vaule) in
94the static scope corresponding to that dyscope (not shown). The
95dyscope defines the environment in which the process evaluates
96expressions and executes statements. The currently executing function
97of a process, corresponding to the top frame in the call stack, can
98``see'' only the variables in its dyscope and those of all the
99ancestors of its dyscope in the dyscope tree.
100
101Returning to the example, $p_0$ enters scope 6, instanitating that
102scope, and then spawns procedure \texttt{f}. This creates process
103$p_1$, with a new stack with a frame pointing to a dyscope
104corresponding to static scope 1. The new process proceed to run
105concurrently with $p_0$. Meanwhile, $p_0$ calls procedure \texttt{g},
106which pushes a new entry onto its call stack, and instantiates scope
1075. Hence $p_0$ has two entries on its stack: the bottom one pointing
108to the instance of scope 6, the top one pointing to the instance of
109scope 5.
110
111Meanwhile, assume $\texttt{x}>0$, so that $p_1$ takes the \emph{true}
112branch of the \texttt{if} statement, instantiating scope 3 under the
113instance of scope 1. It then spawns two copies of procedure
114\texttt{f1}, creating processes $p_2$ and $p_3$ and two instances of
115scope 2. Then $p_1$ spawns \texttt{f2}, creating process $p_4$ and an
116instance of scope 4. Note that the instance of scope 4 is a child of
117the instance of scope 3, since the (static) scope 4 is a child of
118scope 3. Finally, $p_1$ calls \texttt{f2}, pushing a new entry on its
119stack and creating another instance of scope 4. The final state
120arrived at is the one shown.
121
122There are few key points to understand:
123\begin{itemize}
124\item In any state, there is a mapping from the dyscope tree to the
125 static scope tree which maps a dyscope to the static scope of which
126 it is an instance. This mapping is a \emph{tree homomorphism},
127 i.e., if dyscope $u$ is a child of dyscope $v$, then the static
128 scope corresponding to $u$ is a child of the static scope
129 corresponding to $v$.
130\item A static scope may have any number of instances, including 0.
131\item Dynamic scopes are created when control enters the corresponding
132 static scope; they disappear from the state when they become
133 unreachable. A dyscope $v$ is ``reachable'' if some process has a
134 frame pointing to a dyscope $u$ and there is a path from $u$ up to
135 $v$ that follows the parent edges in the dyscope tree.
136\item Processes are created when functions are spawned; they disappear
137 from the state when their stack becomes empty (either because the
138 process terminates normally or invokes the \emph{exit} system
139 function).
140\end{itemize}
141
142\section{Structure of a CIVL-C program}
143
144A CIVL-C program is structured very much like a standard C program.
145In particular, a CIVL-C program may use the preprocessor directives
146specified in the C Standard, and with the same meaning. A source
147program is preprocessed, then parsed, resulting in a translation unit,
148just as with standard C. The main differences are the nesting of
149function definitions and the new primitives beginning with
150\texttt{\$}, which are described in detail in the remainder of this
151part of the manual.
152
153A CIVL-C program must begin with the line
154\begin{verbatim}
155#include <civlc.h>
156\end{verbatim}
157which includes the main CIVL-C header file, which declares all the
158types and other CIVL primitives.
159
160As usual, a translation unit consists of a sequence of variable
161declarations, function prototypes, and function definitions in file
162scope. In addition, \emph{assume} statements may occur in the file
163scope. These are used to state assumptions on the input values
164to a program.
165
166\chapter{Sequential Elements}
167
168In this chapter we describe the main sequential elements of the
169language. For the most part these are the same as in C.
170Primitives dealing with concurrency are introduced in Chapter
171\ref{chap:concurrency}.
172
173\section{Types}
174
175\subsection{Standard types inherited from C}
176
177The boolean type is denoted \verb!_Bool!, as in C. Its values are $0$
178and $1$, which are also denoted by $\cfalse$ and $\ctrue$,
179respectively.
180
181There is one integer type, corresponding to the mathematical integers.
182Currently, all of the C integer types \texttt{int}, \texttt{long},
183\texttt{unsigned\ int}, \texttt{short}, etc., are mapped to the CIVL
184integer type.
185
186There is one real type, corresponding to the mathematical real
187numbers. Currently, all of the C real types \texttt{double},
188\texttt{float}, etc., are mapped to the CIVL real type.
189
190Array types, \texttt{struct} and \texttt{union} types, \texttt{char},
191and pointer types (including pointers to functions) are all exactly as
192in C.
193
194% \subsection{The heap type $\cheap$ and handles}
195
196% Unlike C, a CIVL-C program does not necessarily have access to a
197% single, global heap. Instead, there is a $\cheap$ type, and heaps may
198% be declared explicitly wherever they are needed. Hence a CIVL-C
199% program may have several heaps, and these may exist in different
200% scopes.
201
202% A heap is declared and created as follows:
203% \begin{verbatim}
204% $heap h = $heap_create();
205% \end{verbatim}
206% The function \verb!$heap_create()! creates a new empty heap in the
207% current scope and returns a \emph{handle} to that heap. A handle is
208% like a pointer: it is a reference to another object. However, a handle
209% is much more restricted than a general pointer. In particular, it
210% cannot be dereferenced (by the \ct{*} operator). The underlying heap
211% object can only be accessed by using a handle to it as an argument to
212% a system function.
213
214% Handles can be used in assignments and passed as arguments to functions.
215% For example, this declaration could follow the one above:
216% \begin{verbatim}
217% $heap h2=h;
218% \end{verbatim}
219% After executing this code, \ct{h2} and \ct{h} will be aliased, i.e., the two
220% handles will refer to the same heap object.
221
222% The heap object exists in the scope in which it is created. In
223% particular, it will disappear when that scope disappears, i.e., when
224% control reaches the right curly brace that defines the end of the
225% scope. At that point, any references into the heap become invalid.
226
227% The following system functions deal with heaps:
228% \begin{verbatim}
229% void* $malloc($heap h, int size);
230% void free(void *p)
231% \end{verbatim}
232% The first function is like C's \texttt{malloc}, except that you
233% specify the heap in which the allocation takes place.
234% This modifies the specified heap and returns a pointer to the new object.
235% The function can only occur in a context in which the type of the object is
236% specified, as in:
237% \begin{verbatim}
238% $heap h;
239% int n = 10;
240% double *p = (double*)$malloc(h, n*sizeof(double));
241% \end{verbatim}
242% The function \ct{free} is exactly the same as in C. Note that
243% \texttt{free} modifies the heap which was used to allocate \texttt{p}.
244
245
246\subsection{The bundle type: \cbundle}
247
248CIVL-C includes a type named \cbundle. A bundle is basically a
249sequence of data, wrapped into an atomic package. A bundle is created
250using a function that specifies a region of memory. One can create a
251bundle from an array of integers, and another bundle from an array of
252reals. Both bundles have the same type, \cbundle. They can therefore
253be entered into an array of \cbundle, for example. Hence bundles are
254useful for mixing objects of different (even statically unknown) types
255into a single data structure. Later, the contents of a bundle can be
256extracted with another function that specifies a region of memory into
257which to unpack the bundle; if that memory does not have the right
258type to receive the contents of the bundle, a runtime error is
259generated.
260
261\begin{figure}
262\begin{verbatim}
263/* Creates a bundle from the memory region specified by ptr and size,
264 * copying the data into the new bundle */
265$bundle $bundle_pack(void *ptr, int size);
266
267/* Returns the size (number of bytes) of the bundle */
268int $bundle_size($bundle b);
269
270/* Copies the data out of the bundle into the region specified */
271void $bundle_unpack($bundle bundle, void *ptr);
272\end{verbatim}
273 \caption{The \emph{bundle} abstract data type}
274 \label{fig:bundle}
275\end{figure}
276
277The relevant functions for creating and manipulating bundles
278are given in Figure \ref{fig:bundle}.
279
280\subsection{The \cscope{} type}
281\label{sec:scopetype}
282
283An object of type $\cscope$ is a reference to a dynamic scope. It may
284be thought of as a ``dynamic scope ID, '' but it is not an integer and
285cannot be converted to an integer. Operations defined on scopes are
286discussed in Section \ref{sec:scopeexpr}.
287
288\subsection{The \crange{} and \cdomain{} types}
289
290CIVL-C provides certain abstract datatypes that are useful for
291representing iteration spaces of loops in an abstract way.
292
293First, there is a built-in type $\crange$. An object of this type
294represents an ordered set of integers. There are expressions for
295specifying range values; these are described in Section
296\ref{sec:range_expr}. Ranges are typically used as a step
297in constructing \emph{domains}, described next.
298
299A domain type is used to represent a set of tuples of integer values.
300Every tuple in a domain object has the same arity (i.e., number of
301components). The arity must be at least 1, and is called the
302\emph{dimension} of the domain object.
303
304For each integer constant expression $n$, there is a type
305\cdomainof{\(n\)}, representing domains of dimension $n$.
306% \texttt{\cdomain{}(}]\(n\)\texttt{)}
307The \emph{universal domain type}, denoted \cdomain{}, represents
308domains of all positive dimensions, i.e., it is the union over all
309$n\geq 1$ of \cdomainof{\(n\)}. In particular, each \cdomainof{\(n\)}
310is a subtype of \cdomain{}.
311
312There are expressions for specifying domain values; these are
313described in Section \ref{sec:domain_expr}. There are also certains
314statements that use domains, such as the ``CIVL-\emph{for}'' loop
315\cfor; see Section \ref{sec:cfor}.
316
317
318\section{Expressions}
319
320\subsection{Expressions inherited from C}
321
322The following C expressions are included in CIVL:
323\begin{itemize}
324\item \emph{constant} expressions
325\item \emph{identifier} expressions (\texttt{x})
326\item parenthetical expressions (\verb!(e)!)
327\item numerical \emph{addition} (\verb!a+b!), \emph{subtraction} (\verb!a-b!),
328 \emph{multiplication} (\verb!a*b!), \emph{division} (\verb!a/b!),
329 \emph{unary plus} (\verb!+a!), \emph{unary minus} (\verb!-a!),
330 \emph{integer division} (\verb!a/b!) and \emph{modulus} (\verb!a%b!),
331 all with their ideal mathematical interpretations
332\item array \emph{index} expressions (\verb!a[e]!) and struct or union
333 \emph{navigation} expressions (\verb!x.f!, \verb!p->f!)
334\item \emph{address-of} (\verb!&e!), pointer \emph{dereference} (\verb!*p!),
335 pointer \emph{addition} (\verb!p+i!) and \emph{subtraction} (\verb!p-q!)
336 expressions
337\item relational expressions (\verb!a==b!, \verb~a!=b~, \verb!a>=b!,
338 \verb!a<=b!, \verb!a<b!, \verb!a>b!)
339\item logical \emph{not} (\verb~!p~), \emph{and} (\verb!p&&q!), and
340 \emph{or} (\verb!p||q!)
341\item \emph{sizeof} a type (\verb!sizeof(t)!) or expression (\verb!sizeof(e)!)
342\item \emph{assignment} expressions (\verb!a=b!, \verb!a+=b!, \verb!a-=b!,
343 \verb!a*=b!, \verb!a/=b!, \verb!a%=b!, \verb!a++!, \verb!a--!)
344\item function \emph{calls} \verb!f(e1,...,en)!
345\item \emph{conditional} expressions (\verb!b ? e : f!).
346\item \emph{cast} expressions (\verb!(t)e!)
347\end{itemize}
348
349Bit-wise operations are not yet supported.
350
351\subsection{Scope expressions}
352\label{sec:scopeexpr}
353
354As mentioned in Section \ref{sec:scopetype}, CIVL-C provides a type
355\cscope. An object of this type is a reference to a dynamic scope.
356Several constants, expressions, and functions dealing with the
357\cscope{} type are also provided.
358
359The $\cscope$ type is like any other object type. It may be used as
360the element type of an array, a field in a structure or union, and so
361on. Expressions of type $\cscope$ may occur on the left or right-hand
362sides of assignments and as arguments in function calls just like any
363other expression. Two different variables of type $\cscope$ may be
364aliased, i.e., they may refer to the same dynamic scope.
365
366A dynamic scope $\delta$ is \emph{reachable} if there exists a path
367which starts from the dyscope referenced by some frame on the call
368stack of a process, follows the parent edges in the dyscope tree, and
369terminates in $\delta$. If a dyscope is not reachable, it can never
370become reachable, and it cannot have any effect on the subsequent
371execution of the program.
372
373Normally, a dynamic scope will eventually become unreachable. At some
374point after it becomes unreachable, it will be collected in a
375garbage-collection-like sweep, and any existing references to that
376scope will become \emph{undefined}. An object of type $\cscope$ is
377also undefined before it is initialized. Any use of an undefined
378value is reported as an error by CIVL, so it is important to be sure
379that a scope variable is defined before using it.
380
381
382\subsubsection{Checking if a dyscope is defined: \cscopedefined}
383
384The system function \cscopedefined{} has signature
385\begin{verbatim}
386 _Bool $scope_defined($scope s);
387\end{verbatim}
388It returns \emph{true} if the dynamic scope specified by \texttt{s} is
389defined, else it returns \emph{false}.
390
391\subsubsection{The constant \chere}
392
393A constant \chere{} exists in every scope. This constant has
394type \cscope{} and refers to the dynamic scope in which it is
395contained. For example,
396\begin{verbatim}
397 { // scope s
398 int *p = (int*)$malloc($here, n*sizeof(int));
399 }
400\end{verbatim}
401allocates an object consisting of $n$ ints in the scope $s$.
402
403\subsubsection{The constant \cscoperoot{}}
404
405There is a global constant \cscoperoot{} of type $\cscope$ which
406refers to the root dynamic scope.
407
408
409\subsubsection{Scope relational operators}
410
411Let $s_1$ and $s_2$ be expressions of type \cscope. The following are
412all CIVL-C expressions of boolean type:
413\begin{itemize}
414\item $s_1$ \ct{==} $s_2$. This is \emph{true} iff $s_1$ and $s_2$
415 refer to the same dynamic scope.
416\item $s_1$ \ct{!=} $s_2$. This is \emph{true} iff $s_1$ and $s_2$
417 refer to different dynamic scopes.
418\item $s_1$ \ct{<=} $s_2$. This is \emph{true} iff $s_1$ is equal to
419 or a descendant of $s_2$, i.e., $s_1$ is equal to or contained in $s_2$.
420\item $s_1$ \ct{<} $s_2$. This is \emph{true} iff $s_1$ is a strict
421 descendant of $s_2$, i.e., $s_1$ is contained in $s_2$ and is not
422 equal to $s_2$.
423\item $s_1$ \ct{>} $s_2$. This is equivalent to $s_2$ \ct{<} $s_1$.
424\item $s_1$ \ct{>=} $s_2$. This is equivalent to $s_2$ \ct{<=} $s_1$.
425\end{itemize}
426If $s_1$ or $s_2$ is undefined in any of these expressions, an error
427will be reported.
428
429\subsubsection{Scope parent function \texorpdfstring{\cscopeparent}{\$scope\_parent}}
430
431The system function
432\begin{verbatim}
433 $scope $scope_parent($scope s);
434\end{verbatim}
435returns the parent dynamic scope of the dynamic scope referenced by
436\ct{s}. If \ct{s} is the root dynamic scope, it returns the undefined
437value of type $\cscope$.
438
439\subsubsection{Lowest Common Ancestor: \ct{+}}
440
441The expression $s_1$ \ct{+} $s_2$, where $s_1$ and $s_2$ are
442expressions of type \cscope, evaluates to the lowest common ancestor
443of $s_1$ and $s_2$ in the dynamic scope tree. This is the smallest
444dynamic scope containing both $s_1$ and $s_2$.
445
446\subsubsection{The \cscopeof{} expression}
447
448Given any left-hand-side expression \ct{expr}, the expression
449\begin{verbatim}
450 $scopeof(expr)
451\end{verbatim}
452evaluates to the dynamic scope containing the object specified by
453\ct{expr}.
454
455The following example illustrates the semantics of the \cscopeof{}
456operator. All of the assertions hold:
457\begin{verbatim}
458{
459 $scope s1 = $here;
460 int x;
461 double a[10];
462
463 {
464 $scope s2 = $here;
465 int *p = &x;
466 double *q = &a[4];
467
468 assert($scopeof(x)==s1);
469 assert($scopeof(p)==s2);
470 assert($scopeof(*p)==s1);
471 assert($scopeof(a)==s1);
472 assert($scopeof(a[5])==s1);
473 assert($scopeof(q)==s2);
474 assert($scopeof(*q)==s1);
475 }
476}
477\end{verbatim}
478
479\subsection{Range and domain expressions}
480
481\subsubsection{Regular range expressions}
482\label{sec:range_expr}
483
484An expression of the form
485\begin{verbatim}
486 lo .. hi
487\end{verbatim}
488where \texttt{lo} and \texttt{hi} are integer expressions, represents
489the range consisting of the integers $\texttt{lo}, \texttt{lo}+1,
490\ldots, \texttt{hi}$ (in that order).
491
492An expression of the form
493\begin{verbatim}
494 lo .. hi # step
495\end{verbatim}
496where \texttt{lo}, \texttt{hi}, and \texttt{step} are integer
497expressions is interpreted as follows. If \texttt{step} is positive,
498it represents the range consisting of $\texttt{lo},
499\texttt{lo}+\texttt{step}, \texttt{lo}+2*\texttt{step}, \ldots$, up to
500and possibly including \texttt{hi}. To be precise, the infinite
501sequence is intersected with the set of integers less than or equal to
502\texttt{hi}.
503
504If \texttt{step} is negative, the expression represents the range
505consisting of $\texttt{hi}, \texttt{hi}+\texttt{step},
506\texttt{hi}+2*\texttt{step}, \ldots$, down to and possibly including
507\texttt{lo}. Precisely, the infinite sequence is intersected with the
508set of integers greater than or equal to \texttt{lo}.
509
510\subsubsection{Cartesian domain expressions}
511\label{sec:domain_expr}
512
513An expression of the form
514\begin{verbatim}
515 ($domain) { r1, ..., rn }
516\end{verbatim}
517where \texttt{r1}, \ldots, \texttt{rn} are $n$ expressions of type
518\crange, is a \emph{Cartesian domain expression}. It represents the
519domain of dimension $n$ which is the Cartesian product of the $n$
520ranges, i.e., it consists of all $n$-tuples $(x_1,\ldots,x_n)$ where
521$x_1\in\texttt{r1}$, \ldots, $x_n\in\texttt{rn}$. The order on the
522domain is the dictionary order on tuples. The type of this expression
523is \cdomainof{\(n\)}.
524
525When a Cartesian domain expression is used to initialize an object of
526domain type, the ``\texttt{(}\cdomain\texttt{)}'' may be omitted.
527For example:
528\begin{verbatim}
529 $domain(3) dom = { 0 .. 3, r2, 10 .. 2 # -2 };
530\end{verbatim}
531
532
533\section{Statements}
534
535\subsection{C Statements}
536
537The usual C statements are supported:
538\begin{itemize}
539\item \emph{no-op} (\ct{;})
540\item expression statements (\ct{e;})
541\item labeled statements, including \ct{case} and \ct{default} labels
542 (\ct{l: s})
543\item \emph{for} (\ct{for (init; cond; inc) s}), \emph{while}
544 (\ct{while (cond) s}) and \emph{do} (\ct{do s while (cond)})
545 loops
546\item compound statements (\lb \ct{s1;s2;} \ldots \rb)
547\item \texttt{if} and \verb!if! \ldots \verb!else!
548\item \verb!goto!
549\item \verb!switch!
550\item \verb!break!
551\item \verb!continue!
552\item \verb!return!
553\end{itemize}
554
555\subsection{Guards and nondeterminism}
556
557\subsubsection{Guarded commands: \cwhen}
558
559A guarded command is encoded in CIVL-C using a $\cwhen$ statement:
560\begin{verbatim}
561 $when (expr) stmt;
562\end{verbatim}
563All statements have a guard, either implicit or explicit. For most
564statements, the guard is \ctrue. The \cwhen{} statement allows one to
565attach an explicit guard to a statement.
566
567When \texttt{expr} is \emph{true}, the statement is enabled, otherwise
568it is disabled. A disabled statement is \emph{blocked}---it will not
569be scheduled for execution. When it is enabled, it may execute by
570moving control to the \texttt{stmt} and executing the first atomic
571action in the \texttt{stmt}.
572
573If \texttt{stmt} itself has a non-trivial guard, the guard of the
574\cwhen{} statement is effectively the conjunction of the \texttt{expr}
575and the guard of \texttt{stmt}.
576
577The evaluation of \texttt{expr} and the first atomic action of
578\texttt{stmt} effectively occur as a single atomic action. There is
579no guarantee that execution of \texttt{stmt} will continue atomically
580if it contains more than one atomic action, i.e., other processes may
581be scheduled.
582
583Examples:
584\begin{verbatim}
585 $when (s>0) s--;
586\end{verbatim}
587This will block until \texttt{s} is positive and then decrement
588\texttt{s}. The execution of \texttt{s--} is guaranteed to take place
589in an environment in which \texttt{s} is positive.
590
591\begin{verbatim}
592 $when (s>0) {s--; t++}
593\end{verbatim}
594The execution of \texttt{s--} must happen when \texttt{s>0}, but
595between \texttt{s--} and \texttt{t++}, other processes may execute.
596
597\begin{verbatim}
598 $when (s>0) $when (t>0) x=y*t;
599\end{verbatim}
600This blocks until both \texttt{x} and \texttt{t} are positive then
601executes the assignment in that state. It is equivalent to
602\begin{verbatim}
603 $when (s>0 && t>0) x=y*t;
604\end{verbatim}
605
606\subsubsection{Nondeterministic selection statement: \cchoose}
607
608A \cchoose{} statement has the form
609\begin{verbatim}
610 $choose {
611 stmt1;
612 stmt2;
613 ...
614 default: stmt
615 }
616\end{verbatim}
617The \texttt{default} clause is optional.
618
619The guards of the statements are evaluated and among those that are
620\emph{true}, one is chosen nondeterministically and executed. If none
621are \emph{true} and the \texttt{default} clause is present, it is
622chosen. The \texttt{default} clause will only be selected if all
623guards are \emph{false}. If no \texttt{default} clause is present and
624all guards are \emph{false}, the statement blocks. Hence the implicit
625guard of the \cchoose{} statement without a \texttt{default} clause is
626the disjunction of the guards of its sub-statements. The implicit
627guard of the \cchoose{} statement with a default clause is
628\emph{true}.
629
630Example: this shows how to encode a ``low-level'' CIVL guarded
631transition system:
632
633\begin{verbatim}
634 l1: $choose {
635 $when (x>0) {x--; goto l2;}
636 $when (x==0) {y=1; goto l3;}
637 default: {z=1; goto l4;}
638 }
639 l2: $choose {
640 ...
641 }
642 l3: $choose {
643 ...
644 }
645\end{verbatim}
646
647
648\subsubsection{Nondeterministic choice of integer:
649 \texorpdfstring{\cchooseint}{\$choose\_int}}
650
651The system function \cchooseint{} has the following signature:
652\begin{verbatim}
653 int $choose_int(int n);
654\end{verbatim}
655This function takes as input a positive integer \texttt{n} and
656nondeterministicaly returns an integer in the range
657$[0,\texttt{n}-1]$.
658
659\subsection{Iteration using domains with \cfor}
660\label{sec:cfor}
661
662A \emph{CIVL-for} statement has the form
663\begin{verbatim}
664 $for (int i1, ..., in : dom) S
665\end{verbatim}
666where \texttt{i1}, \ldots, \texttt{in} are $n$ identifiers,
667\texttt{dom} is an expression of type \cdomainof{\(n\)}, and
668\texttt{S} is a statement. The identifiers declare $n$ variables of
669integer type. Control iterates over the values of the domain,
670assigning the integer variables the components of the current tuple in
671the domain at the start of each iteration. The scope of the variables
672extends to the end of \texttt{S}. The iterations takes place in the
673order specified by the domain, e.g., dictionary order for a Caretesian
674domain.
675
676There is a also a parallel version of this construct, \cparfor,
677described in \ref{sec:parfor}.
678
679\section{Functions}
680\subsection{Abstract function: \cabstract}
681
682An abstract function declares a function without a body, and it has the form
683
684\begin{verbatim}
685 $abstract type function(list-of-parameters);
686\end{verbatim}
687
688It is required that the function should have a non-void return type and take at least one parameter.
689The return value of the function is evaluated symbolically using the actual arguments of the function call.
690
691\chapter{Concurrency}
692\label{chap:concurrency}
693
694\section{Process creation and management}
695
696\subsection{The process type: \cproc}
697
698This is a primitive object type and functions like any other primitive
699C type (e.g., \texttt{int}). An object of this type refers to a
700process. It can be thought of as a process ID, but it is not an
701integer and cannot be cast to one. It is analogous to the $\cscope$
702type for dynamic scopes.
703
704Certain expressions take an argument of \cproc{} type and some return
705something of \cproc{} type. The operators \verb!==! and \verb~!=~ may
706be used with two arguments of type \cproc{} to determine whether the
707two arguments refer to the same process.
708
709\subsection{Checking if a process is defined: \cprocdefined}
710
711An object of type \cproc{} is initially undefined, so a use of that
712object would result in an error. One can check whether a \cproc{}
713object is defined using the method \cprocdefined:
714\begin{verbatim}
715 _Bool $proc_defined($proc p);
716\end{verbatim}
717
718\subsection{Obtaining the null process reference: \cprocNull}
719
720This function takes a pointer to an object of \cproc{} type as a parameter:
721
722\begin{verbatim}
723 void $proc_null($proc *p);
724\end{verbatim}
725
726It updates the corresponding object with the default null value of the \cproc{} type.
727The null value of \cproc{} type is considered as defined, i.e., there will be no
728error to use an \cproc{} object with null value.
729
730\subsection{The \emph{self} process constant: \cself}
731
732This is a constant of type \cproc. It can be used wherever an argument
733of type \cproc{} is called for. It refers to the process that is
734evaluating the expression containing \cself.
735
736\subsection{Spawning a new process: \cspawn}
737
738A \emph{spawn} expression is an expression with side-effects. It
739spawns a new process and returns a reference to the new process, i.e.,
740an object of type \cproc. The syntax is the same as a procedure
741invocation with the keyword \cspawn{} inserted in front:
742\begin{verbatim}
743 $spawn f(expr1, ..., exprn)
744\end{verbatim}
745Typically the returned value is assigned to a variable, e.g.,
746\begin{verbatim}
747 $proc p = $spawn f(i);
748\end{verbatim}
749If the invoked function \texttt{f} returns a value, that value is
750simply ignored.
751
752\subsection{Waiting for another process to terminate: \cwait}
753
754The system function $\cwait$ has signature
755\begin{verbatim}
756 void $wait($proc p);
757\end{verbatim}
758When invoked, this function will not return until the process
759referenced by \ct{p} has terminated. Note that $p$ can be any
760expression of type \cproc{}, not just a variable.
761
762\subsection{Waiting for a number of processes to terminate: \cwaitall}
763
764The system function $\cwaitall$ has signature
765\begin{verbatim}
766 void $waitall($proc *procs, int numProcs);
767\end{verbatim}
768When invoked, this function will not return until all the \ct{numProcs} processes
769referenced by the memory specified by \ct{procs} have terminated.
770
771\subsection{Terminating a process immediately: \cexit}
772
773This function takes no arguments. It causes the
774calling process to terminate immediately, regardless of the state of
775its call stack:
776\begin{verbatim}
777 void $exit(void);
778\end{verbatim}
779
780\section{Atomicity}
781
782\subsection{Atom blocks: \catom} This defines a number of statements
783to be executed as a single atomic transition. An \catom~block has the
784following form:
785\begin{verbatim}
786 $atom {
787 stmt1;
788 stmt2;
789 ...
790 }
791\end{verbatim}
792
793The statements inside an \catom\ block are to be executed as one
794transition. It is required that the execution of the statements in an
795\catom\ block satisfy all of the following properties:
796\begin{enumerate}
797\item \emph{deterministic}: at each step in the execution of the atom
798 block, there must be at most one enabled statement;
799\item \emph{nonblocking}: at each step in the execution, there must be
800 at least one enabled statement, hence, together with (1), there must
801 be exactly one enabled statement;
802\item \emph{finite}: the execution of the atom block must terminate
803 after a finite number of steps; and
804\item \emph{isolated}: there are no jumps from outside the atom block
805 to inside the atom block, or from inside the atomc block to outside
806 of it.
807\end{enumerate}
808
809Violations of the \emph{deterministic}, \emph{nonblocking}, or
810\emph{isolated} properties will be reported either statically or
811dynamically. If the \emph{finite} property is violated, the
812verification may just run forever.
813
814Once the process enters an \catom\ block is said to be \emph{executing
815 atomly}. The process remains executing atomly until it reaches the
816terminating right brace of the block. Hence \emph{executing atomly}
817is a dynamic, not static condition. For example, the block might
818contain a function call which takes the process to a point in code
819which is not statically contained in an atom block; that process is
820nevertheless still executing atomly and is subject to the rules above.
821The process only stops executing atomly when that function call
822returns and control finally reaches the right curly brace at the end
823of the atom block (assuming the block is not contained in another atom
824block).
825
826\emph{Note:} \cwait\ statements are not allowed in \catom\ blocks.
827The rationale for this is that there is never a way to know for
828certain that another process has terminated (until \cwait\ has
829returned) so there is never a way to be certain the \cwait\ statement
830will not block. If one does occur in an \catom\ block, an error will
831be reported statically (if it can be detected statically) or
832dynamically (otherwise). Note that it is not always possible to
833detect this statically because the \catom\ block may contain a
834function call, and the function may contain the \cwait\ statement.
835
836\subsection{Atomic blocks: \catomic}
837
838The statements in an \emph{atomic} block will be executed without
839other processes interleaving, to the extent possible. It has the
840form:
841\begin{verbatim}
842 $atomic {
843 stmt1;
844 stmt2;
845 ...
846 }
847\end{verbatim}
848It is essentially a weaker form of \catom. Unlike \catom, there are
849no restrictions on the statements that can go inside an \catomic\
850block. A process executing an \catomic~block will try to execute the
851statements without interleaving with other processes, unless it
852becomes blocked. Unlike an \catom, the statements in an atomic block
853do not necessarily execute as a single transition; they may be spread
854out over multiple transitions.
855
856When no statement is enabled, the execution of the \catomic\ block
857will be interrupted. At this point, other processes are allowed to
858execute. Eventually, if the original process becomes enabled due to
859the actions of other processes, it may be scheduled again, in which
860case it regains atomicity and continues where it left off. For
861example, after executing the first loop, the process executing the
862following code will become blocked at the first \cwait\ statement:
863 \begin{verbatim}
864$atomic{
865 for(int i = 0; i < 5; i++) p[i] = $spawn foo(i);
866 for(int i = 0; i < 5; i++) $wait p[i];
867}
868\end{verbatim}
869Other processes will then execute. Eventually, if the process being
870waited on terminates, the original process becomes enabled and may be
871scheduled, in which case it regain atomicity, increments \texttt{i}
872and proceeds to the next $\cwait$ statement. This is in fact a common
873idiom for spawning and waiting on a set of processes.
874
875A process that enters an $\catomic$ block is said to be
876\emph{executing atomically}; it remains executing atomically until it
877reaches the closing curly brace.
878
879Both $\catom$ and $\catomic$ blocks can be nested arbitrarily, but
880$\catom$ overrides $\catomic$: a process that is executing atomly will
881continue executing atomly if it encounters an $\catomic$ statement;
882but a process executing atomically that encounters an $\catom$ will
883begin executing atomly.
884
885The atomic semantics are defined more precisely as follows: there is a
886single global variable called the \emph{atomic lock}. This variable
887can either be null (meaning the atomic lock is ``free''), or it can
888hold the PID of a process; that process is said to ``hold'' the atomic
889lock. Moreover, each process contains a special integer variable, its
890\emph{atomic counter}, which is initially 0. Every time a process
891enters an atomic block, it increments its atomic counter; every time
892it exits an atomic block, it decrements its counter. In order to
893increment its counter from $0$ to $1$, it must first wait for the
894atomic lock to become free, and then take the lock. When it
895decrements its counter from $1$ to $0$, it releases the atomic lock.
896When a process executing atomically becomes blocked, it releases the
897lock (without changing the value of its atomic counter).
898
899\section{Parallel loops with \cparfor}
900\label{sec:parfor}
901
902A parallel loop statement has the form
903\begin{verbatim}
904 $parfor (int i1, ..., in : dom) S
905\end{verbatim}
906The syntax is exactly the same as that for the sequential loop \cfor
907(Section \ref{sec:cfor}), only with \cparfor{} replacing \cfor.
908
909The semantics are as follows: when control reaches the loop, one
910process in spawned for each element of the domain. That process has
911local variables corresponding to the iteration variables, and those
912local variables are initialized with the components of the tuple for
913the element of the domain that process is assigned. Each process
914executes the statement \texttt{S} in this context. Finally, each of
915these processes is waited on at the end. In particular, there is an
916effective barrier at the end of the loop, and all the spawned
917processes disappear after this point.
918
919\section{Message-Passing}
920
921CIVL-C provides a number of additional primitives that can be used to
922model message-passing systems. This part of the language is built in
923two layers: the lower layer defines an abstract data type for
924representing messages; the higher layer defines an abstract data type
925of \emph{communicators} for managing sets of messages being
926transferred among some set of processes.
927
928\subsection{Messages: \cmessage}
929
930Messages are similar to bundles, but with some additional meta-data.
931The \emph{data} component of the message is the ``contents'' of the
932message and is formed and extracted much like a bundle. The meta-data
933consists of an integer identifier for the \emph{source} place of the
934message, an integer identifier for the message \emph{destination}
935place, and an integer \emph{tag} which can be used by a process to
936discriminate among messages for reception. This is very similar to
937MPI.
938
939\begin{figure}
940 \begin{small}
941\begin{verbatim}
942/* creates a new message, copying data from the specified buffer */
943$message $message_pack(int source, int dest, int tag, void *data, int size);
944
945/* returns the message source */
946int $message_source($message message);
947
948/* returns the message tag */
949int $message_tag($message message);
950
951/* returns the message destination */
952int $message_dest($message message);
953
954/* returns the message size */
955int $message_size($message message);
956
957/* transfers message data to buf, throwing exception if message
958 * size exceeds specified size */
959void $message_unpack($message message, void *buf, int size);
960\end{verbatim}
961 \end{small}
962 \caption{The \emph{message} abstract data type}
963 \label{fig:message}
964\end{figure}
965
966The functions for creating, and extracting information from, messages
967are given in Figure \ref{fig:message}.
968
969\subsection{Communicators: \cgcomm{} and \ccomm}
970\label{sec:communicators}
971
972CIVL-C defines a \emph{global communicator} type $\cgcomm$ and a
973\emph{local communicator} type $\ccomm$. The global communicator is an
974abstraction for a ``communication universe'' that stores buffered
975messages and perhaps other data. The local communicator wraps
976together a reference to a global communicator and an integer
977\emph{place}. Most of the message-passing commands take a local
978communicator as an argument to specify the communication universe used
979for that operation and the place from which that operation will be
980executed. The communication universes are isolated from one
981another---a message sent on one can never be received using a
982different communicator, for example.
983
984The global communicator is the shared object that must be declared in
985a scope containing all scopes in which communication in that universe
986will take place. It is created by specifying the number of
987\emph{places} that will comprise the communicator. A place is an
988address to which messages may be sent or where they may be received.
989There is not necessarily a one-to-one correspondence between places and
990processes: many processes can use the same place.
991
992Local communicators are created (typically in some child scope of the
993scope in which the global communicator is declared) by specifying the
994gobal communicator to which the local one will be associated and the
995place ID. The local communicator will be used in most of the
996message-passing functions; it may be thought of as an ordered pair
997consisting of a reference to the global communicator and the integer
998place ID. The place ID must be in $[0,\texttt{size}-1]$, where
999\texttt{size} is the size of the global communicator. The place ID
1000specifies the place in the global communication universe that will be
1001occupied by the local communicator. The local communicator handle may
1002be used by more than one process, but all of those processes will be
1003viewed as occupying the same place. Only one call to \ccommcreate{}
1004may occur for each gcomm-place pair.
1005
1006
1007Both types ($\cgcomm$ and $\ccomm$) are handle types. When declared
1008with a call to the corresponding creation function, they create an
1009object in the specified scope and return a handle to that object. The
1010object can only be accessed through the specified system functions
1011that take this handle as an argument.
1012
1013 % This local communicator handle will be used as an
1014 % * argument in most message-passing functions. The place must be in
1015 % * [0,size-1] and specifies the place in the global communication universe
1016 % * that will be occupied by the local communicator. The local communicator
1017 % * handle may be used by more than one process, but all of those
1018 % * processes will be viewed as occupying the same place.
1019 % * Only one call to $comm_create may occur for each gcomm-place pair.
1020
1021\begin{figure}
1022 \begin{small}
1023\begin{verbatim}
1024/* Creates a new global communicator object and returns a handle to it.
1025 * The global communicator will have size communication places. The
1026 * global communicator defines a communication "universe" and encompasses
1027 * message buffers and all other components of the state associated to
1028 * message-passing. The new object will be allocated in the given scope. */
1029$gcomm $gcomm_create($scope s, int size);
1030
1031void $gcomm_destroy($gcomm gcomm); // Destroys the gcomm
1032
1033_Bool $gcomm_defined($gcomm gcomm); // Is the gcomm object defined?
1034
1035/* Creates a new local communicator object and returns a handle to it.
1036 * The new communicator will be affiliated with the specified global
1037 * communicator. The new object will be allocated in the given scope. */
1038$comm $comm_create($scope s, $gcomm gcomm, int place);
1039
1040void $comm_destroy($comm comm); // Destroys the comm
1041
1042_Bool $comm_defined($comm comm); // Is the comm object defined?
1043
1044/* Returns the size (number of places) in the global communicator associated
1045 * to the given comm. */
1046int $comm_size($comm comm);
1047
1048/* Returns the place of the local communicator. This is the same as the
1049 * place argument used to create the local communicator. */
1050int $comm_place($comm comm);
1051
1052/* Adds the message to the appropriate message queue in the communication
1053 * universe specified by the comm. The source of the message must equal
1054 * the place of the comm. */
1055void $comm_enqueue($comm comm, $message message);
1056
1057/* Returns true iff a matching message exists in the communication universe
1058 * specified by the comm. A message matches the arguments if the destination
1059 * of the message is the place of the comm, and the sources and tags match. */
1060_Bool $comm_probe($comm comm, int source, int tag);
1061
1062/* Finds the first matching message and returns it without modifying
1063 * the communication universe. If no matching message exists, returns a message
1064 * with source, dest, and tag all negative. */
1065$message $comm_seek($comm comm, int source, int tag);
1066
1067/* Finds the first matching message, removes it from the communicator,
1068 * and returns the message */
1069$message $comm_dequeue($comm comm, int source, int tag);
1070\end{verbatim}
1071 \end{small}
1072 \caption{The \emph{communicator} interface specifies handle
1073 types $\cgcomm$ and $\ccomm$ and the functions above}
1074 \label{fig:comm}
1075\end{figure}
1076
1077The communicator interface is given in Figure \ref{fig:comm}.
1078
1079Certain restrictions are enforced on some relations between the
1080objects involved in a communication universe.
1081
1082Fix a \cgcomm{} object. This object corresponds to a single
1083communication universe with, say, $n$ places. At any time, there can
1084be \emph{at most one} \ccomm{} object associated to a given place. If
1085a program attempts to create a \ccomm{} object with the same \cgcomm{}
1086and place as an earlier created \ccomm{} object, a runtime error will
1087occur. In particular, there can be at most $n$ \ccomm{} objects
1088associated to the \cgcomm.
1089
1090The relation between processes and \ccomm{} objects is unconstrained.
1091One process may use any number of \ccomm{} objects. (Of course, the
1092process must have access to handles for those \ccomm{} objects.)
1093Dually, a single \ccomm{} object may be used by any number of
1094processes; this situation arises naturally when modeling a
1095multi-threaded MPI program.
1096
1097\begin{figure}
1098 \begin{small}
1099\begin{verbatim}
1100$gcomm gcomm = $gcomm_create($here, nprocs);
1101void Process(int rank) {
1102 $comm comm = $comm_create($here, gcomm, rank);
1103
1104 void Thread(int tid) {
1105 ...$comm_enqueue(comm, msg)...
1106 ...$comm_dequeue(comm, source, tag)...
1107 }
1108
1109 for (int i=0; i<nthreads; i++) $spawn Thread(i);
1110 ...
1111 $comm_destroy(comm);
1112}
1113for (int i=0; i<nprocs; i++) $spawn Process(i);
1114...
1115$gcomm_destroy(gcomm);
1116\end{verbatim}
1117 \end{small}
1118 \caption{Code skeleton for model of multithreaded MPI program
1119 showing placement of global and local communicator objects}
1120 \label{fig:mpi-threads-comm}
1121\end{figure}
1122
1123There is no special status given to the process which creates the
1124\ccomm{} object of a given place. Any process which can access a
1125handle for that \ccomm{} object can use it to send or receive
1126messages, regardless of whether that process was the one that created
1127the \ccomm{} object. However, users should be aware that verification
1128is likely to be most efficient when variables are declared as locally
1129as possible, so it is best to declare the \ccomm{} object in the
1130innermost scope possible. Figure \ref{fig:mpi-threads-comm}
1131illustrates an effective way to do this in the context of modeling a
1132multithreaded MPI program. In the code skeleton, each thread can
1133access the local communicator object of its process, but not that of
1134any other process.
1135
1136\subsection{Barriers: \cgbarrier{} and \cbarrier}
1137\label{sec:barriers}
1138
1139CIVL-C defines a \emph{global barrier} type $\cgbarrier$ and a
1140\emph{local barrier} type $\cbarrier$. They provide an implementation of
1141a barrier for concurrent programs.
1142
1143The global barrier is a shared object that must be declared in
1144a scope containing all scopes in which the barrier will be called.
1145 It is created by specifying the number of
1146\emph{places} that will comprise the barrier.
1147
1148Local barriers are created (typically in some child scope of the
1149scope in which the global barrier is declared) by specifying the
1150gobal barrier to which the local one will be associated and the
1151place ID. The local barrier will be used in the call to the barrier;
1152it may be thought of as an ordered pair
1153consisting of a reference to the global barrier and the integer
1154place ID. The place ID must be in $[0,\texttt{size}-1]$, where
1155\texttt{size} is the size of the global barrier.
1156Only one call to \cbarriercreate{}
1157may occur for each gbarrier-place pair.
1158
1159
1160Both types ($\cgbarrier$ and $\cbarrier$) are handle types. When declared
1161with a call to the corresponding creation function, they create an
1162object in the specified scope and return a handle to that object. The
1163object can only be accessed through the specified system functions
1164that take this handle as an argument.
1165
1166
1167\begin{figure}
1168 \begin{small}
1169\begin{verbatim}
1170/* Creates a new barrier object and returns a handle to it.
1171 * The barrier has the specified size.
1172 * The new object will be allocated in the given scope. */
1173$gbarrier $gbarrier_create($scope scope, int size);
1174
1175/* Destroys the gbarrier */
1176void $gbarrier_destroy($gbarrier barrier);
1177
1178/* Creates a new local barrier object and returns a handle to it.
1179 * The new barrier will be affiliated with the specified global
1180 * barrier. This local barrier handle will be used as an
1181 * argument in most barrier functions. The place must be in
1182 * [0,size-1] and specifies the place in the global barrier
1183 * that will be occupied by the local barrier.
1184 * Only one call to $barrier_create may occur for each barrier-place pair.
1185 * The new object will be allocated in the given scope. */
1186$barrier $barrier_create($scope scope, $gbarrier gbarrier, int place);
1187
1188/* Calls the barrier associated with this local barrier object.*/
1189void $barrier_call($barrier barrier);
1190
1191/* Destroys the barrier. */
1192void $barrier_destroy($barrier barrier);
1193\end{verbatim}
1194 \end{small}
1195 \caption{The \emph{barrier} interface specifies handle
1196 types $\cgbarrier$ and $\cbarrier$ and the functions above}
1197 \label{fig:barrier}
1198\end{figure}
1199
1200The barrier interface is given in Fig.\ \ref{fig:barrier}.
1201
1202\chapter{Specification}
1203
1204\section{Overview}
1205
1206Specification is the means by which one expresses what a program is
1207supposed to do, i.e., what it means for it to be correct.
1208
1209There are several specification mechanisms in CIVL-C. First, there are
1210the default properties: these are generic properties which are checked
1211by default in any program, and require no additional specification
1212effort. These properties include absence of deadlocks, division by 0,
1213illegal pointer dereferences, and out of bounds array indexes.
1214
1215Many more program-specific properties can be specified using
1216assertions. CIVL-C has a rich assertion language which extends the
1217language of boolean-valued C expressions. Assumptions are a
1218specification dual to assertions in that they restrict the set
1219of executions on which the assertions are checked.
1220
1221Functional equivalence is a power specification mechanism. In this
1222approach, two programs are provided, one playing the role of the
1223specification, the other the role of the implementation. The
1224implementation is correct if, for all inputs $x$, it produces the same
1225output as that produced by the specification on input $x$. In other
1226words, the two programs define the same function; this is sometimes
1227known as \emph{input-output equivalence}. In order to take this
1228approach, one must first have a way to specify what the inputs and
1229outputs of a programs are; CIVL-C provides special keywords for this.
1230
1231Procedure contracts are another powerful specification mechanisms.
1232These typically involve specifying preconditions and postconditions
1233for a function. The function is correct if, whenever it is called in a
1234state satisfying the precondition, when it returns the state will
1235satsify the postcondition. A program is correct if all its functions
1236satsify their contract.
1237
1238\section{Input-output signature}
1239
1240\subsection{Input type qualifier: \cinput}
1241
1242The declaration of a variable in the root scope may
1243include the type qualifier \cinput, e.g.,
1244\begin{verbatim}
1245 $input int n;
1246\end{verbatim}
1247This declares the variable to be an input variable, i.e., one which is
1248considered to be an input to the program. Such a variable is
1249initialized with an arbitrary (unconstrained) value of its type. When
1250using symbolic execution to verify a program, such a variable will be
1251assigned a unique symbolic constant of its type.
1252
1253In contrast, variables in the root scope which are not input variables
1254will instead be initialized with the ``undefined'' value. If an
1255undefined value is used in some way (such as in an argument to an
1256operator), an error occurs.
1257
1258In addition, input variables may only be read, never written to.
1259
1260Alternatively, it is also possible to specify a particular concrete
1261initial value for an input variable. This is done using a command
1262line argument when verifying or running the program.
1263
1264Input (and output) variables also play a key role when determining
1265whether two programs are functionally equivalent. Two programs are
1266considered functionally equivalent if, whenever they are given the
1267same inputs (i.e., corresponding \cinput{} variables are initialized
1268with the same values) they will produce the same outputs (i.e.,
1269corresponding \coutput{} variables will end up with the same values at
1270termination).
1271
1272\subsection{Output type qualifier: \coutput}
1273
1274A variable in the root scope may be declared with this type qualifier
1275to declare it to be an output variable. Output variables are ``dual''
1276to input variables. They may only be written to, never read. They
1277are used primarily in functional equivalence checking.
1278
1279\section{Assertions and assumptions}
1280
1281\subsection{Assertions: \cassert}
1282
1283The system function \cassert{} takes an argument of boolean type:
1284\begin{verbatim}
1285 void $assert (_Bool expr);
1286\end{verbatim}
1287During verification, the assertion is checked. If it cannot be proved
1288that it must hold, a violation is reported.
1289
1290Note that CIVL-C boolean expressions have a richer syntax than C
1291expressions, and may include universal or existential quantifiers
1292(see below), and the boolean values \ctrue{} and \cfalse{}.
1293
1294The assertion function may take additional optional arguments used to
1295print a specific message if the assertion is violated. These
1296additional arguments are similar in form to those used in C's
1297\texttt{printf} statement: a format string, followed by some number of
1298arguments which are evaluated and substituted for successive codes in
1299the format string. For example,
1300\begin{verbatim}
1301 $assert(x<=B, "x-coordinate %f exceeds bound %f", x, B);
1302\end{verbatim}
1303
1304The C function \texttt{assert}, included in the standard library
1305\texttt{assert.h}, is identical to \cassert. Programmers are
1306free to use either one.
1307
1308
1309\subsection{Assume statements: \cassume}
1310
1311As \emph{assume statement} has the form
1312\begin{verbatim}
1313 $assume expr;
1314\end{verbatim}
1315During verification, the assumed expression is assumed to hold. If
1316this leads to a contradiction on some execution, that execution is
1317simply ignored. It never reports a violation, it only restricts the
1318set of possible executions that will be explored by the verification
1319algorithm.
1320
1321Like as assertion statement, as assume statement can be used any place
1322a statement is expected. In addition, as assume statement can be used
1323in file scope to place restrictions on the global variables of the
1324programs. For example,
1325\begin{verbatim}
1326$input int B;
1327$input int N;
1328$assume 0<=N && N<=B;
1329\end{verbatim}
1330declares \texttt{N} and \texttt{B} to be integer inputs and restricts
1331consideration to inputs satisfying $0\leq\texttt{N}\leq\texttt{B}$.
1332
1333
1334\section{Formulas}
1335
1336A formula is a boolean expression that can be used in an assert
1337statement, assume statement, procedure contract (below), or invariant.
1338Any ordinary C boolean expression is a formula. CIVL-C provides some
1339additional kinds of formulas, described below.
1340
1341\subsection{Implication: \cimplies}
1342
1343The binary operation \cimplies{} represents logical implication.
1344The expression \verb!p=>q! is equivalent to \verb~(!p)||q~.
1345
1346\subsection{Universal quantifier: \cforall}
1347
1348The universally qunatified formula has the form
1349\begin{verbatim}
1350 $forall { type identifier | restriction} expr
1351\end{verbatim}
1352where \verb!type! is a type name (e.g., \texttt{int} or
1353\texttt{double}), \verb!identifier! is the name of the bound variable,
1354\verb!restriction! is a boolean expression which expresses some
1355restriction on the values that the bound variable can take, and
1356\verb!expr! is a formula. The universally quantified formula
1357holds iff for all values assignable to the bound variable
1358for which the restriction holds, the formula \ct{expr} holds.
1359
1360A variation on the construct above can be used in the special case
1361where the bound variable is to range over a finite interval
1362of integers. In this case the quantified formula may be written:
1363\begin{verbatim}
1364 $forall { type identifier=lower .. upper } expr
1365\end{verbatim}
1366where \ct{lower} and \ct{upper} are integer expressions.
1367
1368\subsection{Existential quantifier: \cexists}
1369
1370The syntax for existentially quantified expressions is exactly the
1371same as for universally quantified expressions, with \cexists{} in
1372place of \cforall{}.
1373
1374\section{Contracts}
1375
1376\subsection{Procedure contracts: \crequires{} and \censures{}}
1377The \crequires{} and \censures{} primitives are used to encode
1378procedure contracts. There are optional
1379elements that may occur in a procedure declaration or definition,
1380as follows. For a function prototype:
1381\begin{verbatim}
1382 T f(...)
1383 $requires expr;
1384 $ensures expr;
1385 ;
1386\end{verbatim}
1387For a function definition:
1388\begin{verbatim}
1389 T f(...)
1390 $requires expr;
1391 $ensures expr;
1392 {
1393 ...
1394 }
1395\end{verbatim}
1396The value \cresult{} may be used in post-conditions to refer
1397to the result returned by a procedure.
1398
1399\emph{Status}: parsed, but nothing is currently done with this
1400information.
1401
1402\subsection{Loop invariants: \cinvariant}
1403
1404This indicates a loop invariant. Each C loop
1405construct has an optional invariant clause as follows:
1406\begin{verbatim}
1407 while (expr) $invariant (expr) stmt
1408 for (e1; e2; e3) $invariant (expr) stmt
1409 do stmt while (expr) $invariant (expr) ;
1410\end{verbatim}
1411The invariant encodes the claim that if \texttt{expr} holds upon
1412entering the loop and the loop condition holds, then it will hold
1413after completion of execution of the loop body. The invariant is used
1414by certain verification techniques.
1415
1416\emph{Status:} parsed, but nothing is currently done with this
1417information.
1418
1419\section{Concurrency specification}
1420
1421\subsection{Remote expressions: \texttt{e@x}}.
1422
1423These have the form \verb!expr@x! and refer to a variable in another
1424process, e.g., \verb!procs[i]@x!. This special kind of expression is
1425used in collective expressions, which are used to formulate collective
1426assertions and invariants.
1427
1428The expression \verb!expr! must have \cproc{} type. The variable
1429\texttt{x} must be a statically visible variable in the context in
1430which it is occurs. When this expression is evaluated, the evaluation
1431context will be shifted to the process referred to by \texttt{expr}.
1432
1433\emph{Status}: not implemented.
1434
1435\subsection{Collective expressions: \ccollective}. These have the form
1436\begin{verbatim}
1437 $collective(proc_expr, int_expr) expr
1438\end{verbatim}
1439This is a collective expression over a set of processes. The
1440expression \texttt{proc{\U}expr} yields a pointer to the first element
1441of an array of \cproc. The expression \texttt{int{\U}expr} gives the
1442length of that array, i.e., the number of processes. Expression
1443\texttt{expr} is a boolean-valued expression; it may use remote
1444expressions to refer to variables in the processes specified in the
1445array. Example:
1446\begin{verbatim}
1447 $proc procs[N];
1448 ...
1449 $assert $collective(procs, N) i==procs[(pid+1)%N]@i ;
1450\end{verbatim}
1451
1452\emph{Status}: not implemented.
1453
1454\chapter{Pointers and Heaps}
1455\label{chap:pointers}
1456
1457CIVL-C supports pointers, using the same operators with the same
1458meanings as C (\texttt{\&}, \texttt{*}, pointer arithmetic). There is
1459also a heap in every scope, and system functions to allocate and
1460deallocate objects in the specified scope.
1461
1462\section{Memory functions: \texttt{memcpy}}
1463
1464The function \texttt{memcpy} is defined in the standard C library
1465\texttt{string.h} and works exactly the same in CIVL-C: it copies
1466data from the region pointed to by \ct{q} to that pointed to by
1467\ct{p}. The signature is
1468
1469\begin{verbatim}
1470 void memcpy(void *p, void *q, size_t size);
1471\end{verbatim}
1472
1473\section{Heaps, \cmalloc{} and \cfree}
1474
1475As mentioned above, each dynamic scope has an implicit heap on which
1476objects can be allocated and deallocated dynamically. To allocate an
1477object, one first needs a reference to the dynamic scope to be used.
1478The system function $\cmalloc$ is like C's \texttt{malloc}, but takes
1479this extra scope argument:
1480\begin{verbatim}
1481 void * $malloc($scope scope, int size);
1482\end{verbatim}
1483The standard C function
1484\begin{verbatim}
1485 void * malloc(int size);
1486\end{verbatim}
1487declared in \texttt{stdlib.h}, is equivalent to \verb!$malloc($root, size)!.
1488
1489The system function \cfree{} is used to deallocate a heap object;
1490it is just like C's \texttt{free}:
1491\begin{verbatim}
1492 void $free(void *p);
1493\end{verbatim}
1494An error is generated if the pointer is not one that was returned by
1495\cmalloc, or if it was already freed. The standard C function
1496\texttt{free}, declared in \texttt{stdlib.h} is identical to \cfree.
1497The two functions are interchangeable.
1498
1499% \section{Pointer types}
1500
1501% Given any object type $T$ and a static scope $s$ in a CIVL-C program,
1502% there is a type \emph{pointer-to-$T$-in-$s$}. The type is used to
1503% represent a pointer to a memory location of type $T$ in scope $s$ or a
1504% descendant of $s$ (i.e., some scope contained in $s$).
1505
1506% If scope $s_1$ is a descendant of $s_2$ (i.e., $s_1$ is lexically
1507% contained in $s_2$), the type \emph{pointer-to-$T$-in-$s_1$} is a
1508% subtype of \emph{pointer-to-$T$-in-$s_2$}. This means that any
1509% expression of the first type can be used wherever an object of the
1510% second type is expected. In particular, any expression $e$ of the
1511% subtype can be assigned to a left-hand-side expression of the
1512% supertype without explicit casts; also $e$ can be used as an argument
1513% to a function for which the corresponding parameter has the supertype.
1514
1515% The syntax for denoting this type adheres to the usual C syntax for
1516% denoting the type \emph{pointer-to-$T$} with the addition of a scope
1517% parameter within angular brackets immediately following the \texttt{*}
1518% token. For example, to declare a variable \texttt{p} of type
1519% \emph{pointer-to-$T$-in-$s$}, one writes
1520% \begin{verbatim}
1521% int *<s> p;
1522% \end{verbatim}
1523% If the scope modifier \texttt{<...>} is absent, the scope is taken to
1524% be the root scope $s_0$. The object has type
1525% \emph{pointer-to-$T$-in-$s_0$}, which is abreviated as
1526% \emph{pointer-to-$T$}. In this way, stanard C programs can be
1527% interpreted as CIVL-C programs.
1528
1529% \section{Address-of operator}
1530
1531% The address-of operator \texttt{\&} returns a pointer of the
1532% appropriate subtype using the innermost scope in which its left-hand-side
1533% argument is declared. For example
1534
1535% \begin{verbatim}
1536% {
1537% $scope s1 = $here();
1538% int x;
1539% double a[N];
1540% int *<s1> p = &x;
1541% double *<s1> q = &a[2];
1542% }
1543% \end{verbatim}
1544% is correct (in particular, it is type-correct) because \texttt{\&x}
1545% has type \emph{pointer-to-\texttt{int}-in-\texttt{s1}}, since
1546% \texttt{s1} is the scope in which \texttt{x} is declared.
1547
1548% Another pointer example:
1549% \begin{small}
1550% \begin{verbatim}
1551% { $scope s0 = $here();
1552% { $scope s1 = $here();
1553% double x;
1554% { $scope s2 = $here();
1555% double y;
1556% double *<s1> p;
1557% /* p can only point to something in s1 or descendant, for example, s2 */
1558% p = &x; // fine
1559% p = &y; // fine
1560% p = (double*)$malloc(s0, 10*sizeof(double)); // static type error
1561% }
1562% }
1563% }
1564% \end{verbatim}
1565% \end{small}
1566
1567% \section{Pointer addition and subtractions}
1568
1569% If \texttt{e} is an expression of type \emph{pointer-to-$T$-in-$s$}
1570% and \texttt{i} is an expression of integer type then \texttt{e+i} also
1571% has type \emph{pointer-to-$T$-in-$s$}. In other words, pointer
1572% addition cannot leave the scope of the original pointer. This
1573% reflects the fact that every object is contained in one scope, and
1574% pointer addition cannot leave the object.
1575
1576% Pointer subtraction is defined on two pointers of the same type, where
1577% ``same'' includes the scope. That is checked statically. As in C, it
1578% is only defined if the two pointers point to the same object. In
1579% CIVL-C, a runtime error will be thrown if they do not point to the
1580% same object.
1581
1582% \section{Semantics of scopes and pointer types}
1583
1584% A variable of type \cscope{} is treated like any other variable.
1585% It becomes part of the state when the scope in which it is declared
1586% is instantiated to form a dynamic scope. The variable is
1587% initialized at that time and its value cannot change.
1588
1589% Each time a dynamic scope is instantiated, it is assigned a unique ID
1590% number. The exactly value of the ID number is not relevant, it just
1591% has to be distince from any other scope ID number that currently
1592% exists in the state. This is the value that is assigned to the scope
1593% variable. Therefore, if a static scope contains a scope variable, and
1594% that scope is instantiated twice to form two distinct dynamic scopes,
1595% the values assigned to the two variables will be distinct.
1596
1597% A pointer value is an ordered pair $\langle \delta,r \rangle$, where
1598% $\delta$ is a dynamic scope ID and $r$ is a reference to a memory
1599% location in the static scope associated to $\delta$. (We will define
1600% the exact form of a reference later.)
1601
1602% When a dynamic scope is instantiated, each new variable created is
1603% assigned a \emph{dynamic type}. This is a refinement of the static
1604% type associated to the static variable. Every dynamic type
1605% is an instance of exactly one static type. The dynamic
1606% type of the newly instantiated variable is an instance of the
1607% static type of the static variable.
1608
1609% The dynamic pointer types have the form
1610% \emph{pointer-to-$t$-in-$\delta$}, where $t$ is a dynamic type and
1611% $\delta$ is a dynamic scope ID. For a program to be dynamically type
1612% safe, such a variable should hold only values of the form $\langle
1613% \delta, r\rangle$. In particular, the variable should never be
1614% assigned a value where the dynamic scope component is a different
1615% instance of the static scope $s$ associated to $\delta$.
1616
1617% \section{Pointer casts}
1618
1619% If scope $s_1$ is contained in scope $s_2$, an expression of type
1620% \emph{pointer-to-$T$-in-$s_1$} can always be cast to
1621% \emph{pointer-to-$T$-in-$s_2$},
1622% because the first is a subtype of the second. (As described above,
1623% the cast is unnecessary.)
1624
1625% The cast in the other direction is also allowed, but the dynamic type
1626% safety of that cast will only be checked at runtime. In particular, a
1627% runtime error will result if the cast attempts to cast the pointer
1628% value to a dynamic scope which does not contain (is an ancestor of)
1629% the dynamic scope component of the pointer value.
1630
1631% A type \emph{pointer-to-$T_1$-in-$s$} can be cast to a type
1632% \emph{pointer-to-$T_2$-in-$s$} according to the usual rules of C. In
1633% other words, usual casting rules apply as long as you don't change the
1634% scope.
1635
1636% \section{Scope-Parameterized Functions}
1637
1638% Coming soon. (Parsed, type checked, not currently used otherwise.)
1639
1640% \section{Scope-Parameterized Type Definitions}
1641
1642% Coming soon. (Ditto.)
1643
1644\chapter{Libraries}
1645
1646Each of the following libraries is at least partially implemented and can
1647be included in a CIVL-C program:
1648\begin{itemize}
1649\item \ct{assert}
1650 \begin{itemize}
1651 \item \verb!void assert(_Bool expr);!
1652 \end{itemize}
1653\item \ct{math}
1654 \begin{itemize}
1655 \item \verb!double sqrt(double x);!
1656 \item \verb!double ceil(double x);!
1657 \item \verb!double exp(double x);!
1658 \end{itemize}
1659\item \ct{stdlib}
1660 \begin{itemize}
1661 \item \verb!size_t!
1662 \item \verb!void * malloc(size_t size);!
1663 \item \verb!void free(void * ptr);!
1664 \end{itemize}
1665\item \ct{stdbool}
1666 \begin{itemize}
1667 \item \verb!true!
1668 \item \verb!false!
1669 \end{itemize}
1670\item \ct{stddef}
1671 \begin{itemize}
1672 \item \verb!size_t!
1673 \item \verb!NULL!
1674 \end{itemize}
1675\item \ct{stdio}
1676 \begin{itemize}
1677 \item \verb!int printf(const char * restrict format, ...);!
1678 \end{itemize}
1679\item \ct{string}
1680 \begin{itemize}
1681 \item \verb!size_t!
1682 \item \verb!NULL!
1683 \item \verb!void memcpy(void * restrict dst, const void * restrict src, size_t n);!
1684 \end{itemize}
1685\end{itemize}
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