Interface Theories for (A)synchronously Communicating Modal I/O-Transition Systems

TL;DR

This paper introduces interface theories based on modal I/O-transition systems, supporting both synchronous and asynchronous communication, to improve component compatibility and refinement in software development.

Contribution

It presents a novel interface theory for asynchronous communication using FIFO buffers, expanding the existing synchronous framework.

Findings

Developed formal models for asynchronous communication interfaces.

Compared synchronous and asynchronous interface theories.

Enhanced understanding of component compatibility in different communication paradigms.

Abstract

Interface specifications play an important role in component-based software development. An interface theory is a formal framework supporting composition, refinement and compatibility of interface specifications. We present different interface theories which use modal I/O-transition systems as their underlying domain for interface specifications: synchronous interface theories, which employ a synchronous communication schema, as well as a novel interface theory for asynchronous communication where components communicate via FIFO-buffers.