Testing equivalence as a bisimulation equivalence

Abstract

Abstract In this paper we show how the testing equivalences and preorders on transition systems may be interpreted as instances of generalized bisimulation equivalences and prebisimulation preorders. The characterization relies on defining transformations on the transition systems in such a way that the testing relations on the original systems correspond to (pre)bisimulation relations on the altered systems. On the basis of these results, it is possible to use algorithms for determining the (pre)bisimulation relations in the case of finite-state transition systems to compute the testing relations.