Regression model checking

Abstract

Model checking is a promising technique for verifying program behavior and is increasingly finding usage in industry. To date, however, researchers have primarily considered model checking of single versions of programs. It is well understood that model checking can be very expensive for large, complex programs. Thus, simply reapplying model checking techniques on subsequent versions of programs as they evolve, in the limited time that is typically available for validating new releases, presents challenges. To address these challenges, we have developed a new technique for regression model checking (RMC), that applies model checking incrementally to new versions of systems. We report results of an empirical study examining the effectiveness of our technique; our results show that it is significantly faster than traditional model checking.