A number of recent papers present efficient algorithms for LTL model checking for recursive programs with finite data structures.
A common feature in all these works is that they consider infinitely long runs of the program without regard to the size of
the program stack. Runs requiring unbounded stack are often a result of abstractions done to obtain a finite-data recursive
program. In this paper, we introduce the notion of resource-constrained model checking where we distinguish between stack-diverging
runs and finite-stack runs. It should be noted that finiteness of stack-like resources cannot be expressed in LTL. We develop
resource-constrained model checking in terms of good cycle detection in a finite graph called R-graph, which is constructed
from a given push-down system (PDS) and a Büchi automaton. We make the formulation of the model checker “executable” by encoding
it directly as Horn clauses. We present a local algorithm to detect a good cycle in an R-graph. Furthermore, by describing
the construction of R-graph as a logic program and evaluating it using tabled resolution, we do model checking without materializing
the push-down system or the induced Rgraph. Preliminary experiments indicate that the local model checker is at least as efficient
as existing model checkers for push-down systems.
This work was supported in part by NSF grants EIA-9705998, CCR-9876242, EIA-9805735, N000140110967, and IIS-0072927.