17731673
Relaxed Balance through Standard Rotations
We consider binary search trees, where rebalancing transformations need not be connected with updates but may be delayed. For standard AVL tree rebalancing, we prove that even though the rebalancing operations are uncoupled from updates, their total number is bounded by O(M log(M+N)), where M is the number of updates to an AVL tree of initial size N. Hence, relaxed balancing of AVL trees comes at no extra cost asymptotically. Furthermore, our scheme differs from most other relaxed balancing schemes in an important aspect: No rebalancing transformation can be done in the wrong direction, i.e., no performed rotation can make the tree less balanced. Moreover, each performed rotation indeed corresponds to a real imbalance situation in the tree. Our results are important in designing efficient concurrency control strategies for main-memory databases. Main-memory search structures have gained new applications in large embedded systems, such as switching systems for mobile telephones.
34233329
Search Trees with Relaxed Balance and Near-Optimal Height
We introduce the relaxed k-tree, a search tree with relaxed balance and a height bound, when in balance, of (1 + Ɛ) log2 n + 1, for any Ɛ > 0. The rebalancing work is amortized O(1/Ɛ) per update. This is the first binary search tree with relaxed balance having a height bound better than c ċ log2 n for a fixed constant c. In all previous proposals, the constant is at least 1/ log2 Φ > 1.44, where Φ is the golden ratio. 
 
As a consequence, we can also define a standard (non-relaxed) k-tree with amortized constant rebalancing per update, which is an improvement over the original definition. 
 
Search engines based on main-memory databases with strongly fluctuating workloads are possible applications for this line of work.
6986183
Efficient Simplification of Bisimulation Formulas
The problem of checking or optimally simplifying bisimulation formulas is likely to be computationally very hard. We take a different view at the problem: we set out to define a very fast algorithm, and then see what we can obtain. Sometimes our algorithm can simplify a formula perfectly, sometimes it cannot. However, the algorithm is extremely fast and can, therefore, be added to formula-based bisimulation model checkers at practically no cost. When the formula can be simplified by our algorithm, this can have a dramatic positive effect on the better, but also more time consuming, theorem provers which will finish the job.
80794
Efficient Rebalancing of Chromatic Search Trees
Chromatic trees were defined by Nurmi and Soisalon-Soininen, as a new type of binary search tree for databases. The aim is to improve runtime performance by allowing a greater degree of concurrency, which, in turn, is obtained by uncoupling updating from rebalancing. This also allows rebalancing to be postponed completely or partially until after peak working hours. The advantages of the proposal of Nurmi and Soisalon-Soininen are quite significant, but there are definite problems with it. First, they give no explicit upper bound on the complexity of their algorithm. Second, some of their rebalancing operations can be applied many more times than necessary. Third, some of their operations, when removing one problem, create another. We define a new set of rebalancing operations which we prove give rise to at most @?log"2(N+1)@?-1 rebalancing operations per insertion and at most @?log"2(N+1)@?-2 rebalancing operations per deletion, where N is the maximum size the tree could ever have, given its initial size and the number of insertions performed. Most of these rebalancing operations, in fact, do no restructuring; they simply move weights around. The number of operations which actually change the structure of the tree is at most one per update.
19914316
Extending the Accommodating Function
The applicability of the accommodating function, a relatively new measure for the quality of on-line algorithms, is extended. If a limited amount n of some resource is available, the accommodating function A(?) is the competitive ratio when input sequences are restricted to those for which the amount ?n of resources suffices for an optimal off-line algorithm. The accommodating function was originally used only for ? ? 1. We focus on ? < 1, observe that the function now appears interesting for a greater variety of problems, and use it to make new distinctions between known algorithms and to find new ones.
30882911
Complexity of Layered Binary Search Trees with Relaxed Balance
When search trees are made relaxed, balance constraints are weakened such that updates can be made without immediate rebalancing. This can lead to a speed-up in some circumstances. However, the weakened balance constraints also make it more challenging to prove complexity results for relaxed structures.In our opinion, one of the simplest and most intuitive presentations of balanced search trees has been given via layered trees. We show that relaxed layered trees are among the best of the relaxed structures. More precisely, rebalancing is worst-case logarithmic and amortized constant per update, and restructuring is worst-case constant per update.
44597345
Verification of Hierarchical State/Event Systems Using Reusability and Compositionality
We investigate techniques for verifying hierarchical systems, i.e., finite state systems with a nesting capability. The straightforward way of analysing a hierarchical system is to first flatten it into an equivalent non-hierarchical system and then apply existing finite state system verification techniques. Though conceptually simple, flattening is severely punished by the hierarchical depth of a system. To alleviate this problem, we develop a technique that exploits the hierarchical structure to reuse earlier reachability checks of superstates to conclude reachability of substates. We combine the reusability technique with the successful compositional technique of [13] and investigate the combination experimentally on industrial systems and hierarchical systems generated according to our expectations to real systems. The experimental results are very encouraging: whereas a flattening approach degrades in performance with an increase in the hierarchical depth (even when applying the technique of [13]), the new approach proves not only insensitive to the hierarchical depth, but even leads to improved performance as the depth increases.
6242554
Guided Synthesis of Control Programs Using UPPAAL
In this paper we address the problem of scheduling and synthesizing distributed control programs for a batch production plant. We use a timed automata model of the batch plant and the verification tool UPPAAL to solve the scheduling problem.In modeling the plant, we aim at a level of abstraction which is sufficiently accurate in order that synthesis of control programs from generated timed traces is possible. Consequently, the models quickly become too detailed and complicated for immediate automatic synthesis. In fact, only models of plants producing two batches can be analyzed directly! To overcome this problem, we present a general method allowing the user to guide the model-checker according to heuristically chosen strategies. The guidance is specified by augmenting the model with additional guidance variables and by decorating transitions with extra guards on these. Applying this method have made synthesis of control programs feasible for a plant producing as many as 60 batches.The synthesized control programs have been executed in a physical plant. Besides proving useful in validating the plant model and in finding some modeling errors, we view this final step as the ultimate litmus test of our methodology's ability to generate executable (and executing) code from basic plant models.
30176003
Lower and Upper Bounds in Zone Based Abstractions of Timed Automata
Timed automata have an infinite semantics. For verification purposes, one usually uses zone based abstractions w.r.t. the maximal constants to which clocks of the timed automaton are compared. We show that by distinguishing maximal lower and upper bounds, significantly coarser abstractions can be obtained. We show soundness and completeness of the new abstractions w.r.t. reachability. We demonstrate how information about lower and upper bounds can be used to optimise the algorithm for bringing a difference bound matrix into normal form. Finally, we experimentally demonstrate that the new techniques dramatically increases the scalability of the real-time model checker Uppaal.
406624
Model Checking Timed Automata with Priorities Using DBM Subtraction
In this paper we describe an extension of timed automata with priorities, and efficient algorithms to compute subtraction on DBMs (difference bounded matrices), needed in symbolic model-checking of timed automata with priorities. The subtraction is one of the few operations on DBMs that result in a non-convex set needing sets of DBMs for representation. Our subtraction algorithms are efficient in the sense that the number of generated DBMs is significantly reduced compared to a naive algorithm. The overhead in time is compensated by the gain from reducing the number of resulting DBMs since this number affects the performance of symbolic model-checking. The uses of the DBM subtraction operation extend beyond timed automata with priorities. It is also useful for allowing guards on transitions with urgent actions, deadlock checking, and timed games.
12983032
Practical verification of embedded software
Using a new verification algorithm called the compositional backward technique, the authors demonstrate that they can exhaustively verify even the largest industrial applications-comprising more than 1,000 components-in a few minutes on a standard PC.