State-Machine Modelling in the DOVE System

The DOVE tool supports high-level system modelling and design, and formal reasoning about critical properties. DOVE uses state-machine graphs to illustrate designs, thus building on a familiar and effective means of communicating system designs to a wide audience. DOVE employs a propositional temporal logic to express desirable behavioural properties of the design, and presents it in a sequent calculus syntax for ease of manipulation. A verification procedure which can handle temporal properties of DOVE state machines is included through high level tactics in a graphical proof tool interface. The DOVE program is committed to developing proof visualization techniques to complement the power of this proof scheme. This paper presents the theoretical structure underlying the DOVE tool. APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE Current address: Praxis Critical Systems Limited, 20 Manvers Street, Bath BA1 1PX, United Kingdom.