Abstract. We present an automatic iterative abstraction-refinement methodology in which the initial abstract model is generated by an automatic analysis of the control structures in the program to be verified. Abstract models may admit erroneous (or "spurious") counterexamples. We devise new symbolic techniques which analyze such counterexamples and refine the abstract model correspondingly. The refinement algorithm keeps the size of the abstract state space small due to the use of abstraction functions which distinguish many degrees of abstraction for each program variable. We describe an implementation of our methodology in NuSMV. Practical experiments including a large Fujitsu IP core design with about 500 latches and 10000 lines of SMV code confirm the effectiveness of our approach.

Abstract. We present an automatic iterative abstraction-refinement methodology in which the initial abstract model is generated by an automatic analysis of the control structures in the program to be verified. Abstract models may admit erroneous (or "spurious") counterexamples. We devise new symbolic techniques which analyze such counterexamples and refine the abstract model correspondingly. The refinement algorithm keeps the size of the abstract state space small due to the use of abstraction functions which distinguish many degrees of abstraction for each program variable. We describe an implementation of our methodology in NuSMV. Practical experiments including a large Fujitsu IP core design with about 500 latches and 10000 lines of SMV code confirm the effectiveness of our approach.

We describe a method for using abstraction to reduce the complexity of temporal-logic model checking. Using techniques similar to those involved in abstract interpretation, we construct an abstract model of a program without ever examining the corresponding unabstracted model. We show how this abstract model can be used to verify properties of the original program. We have implemented a system based on these techniques, and we demonstrate their practicality using a number of examples, including a program representing a pipelined ALU circuit with over 10 1300 states.

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