What processes know: Definitions and proof methods
Shmuel Katz,Gadi Taubenfeld +1 more
- 01 Nov 1986
- pp 249-262
TL;DR: It is shown that there are a variety of definitions which can reasonably be applied to what a process can know about the global state, and the first proof methods for proving knowledge assertions are presented.
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Abstract: The importance of the notion of knowledge in reasoning about distributed systems has been recently pointed out by several works. It has been argued that a distributed computation can be understood and analyzed by considering how it affects the state of knowledge of the system. We show that there are a variety of definitions which can reasonably be applied to what a process can know about the global state. We also move beyond the semantic definitions, and present the first proof methods for proving knowledge assertions. Both shared memory and message passing models are considered.
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Citations
Knowledge and common knowledge in a distributed environment
Joseph Y. Halpern,Yoram Moses +1 more
TL;DR: It is shown that states of knowledge of groups of processors are useful concepts for the design and analysis of distributed protocols and that, formally speaking, in practical systems common knowledge cannot be attained.
Knowledge-based programs
Ronald Fagin,Yoram Moses,Joseph Y. Halpern,Moshe Y. Vardi +3 more
- 20 Aug 1995
TL;DR: In this paper, a sufficient condition is provided for a knowledge-based program to be represented in a unique way in a given context, which applies to many cases of interest, and covers many of the knowledge- based programs considered in the literature.
86
The wakeup problem
Michael J. Fischer,Shlomo Moran,Steven Rudich,Gadi Taubenfeld +3 more
- 01 Apr 1990
TL;DR: The main question is, how much memory is needed to solve the wakeup problem?
33
Impossibility results in the presence of multiple faulty processes
TL;DR: The impossibility of solving certain problems in an unreliable distributed system where multiple processes may fail is investigated and a contradiction is shown among a set of axioms which characterize any fault-tolerant protocol solving the problems it treats.
20
A predicate transformer approach to knowledge and knowledge-based protocols
Beverly A. Sanders
- 01 Jan 1992
TL;DR: In this paper, a predicate transformer representing knowledge is defined in the context of a simple and modern programming theory, which facilitates understanding the pragmatic aspects of algorithm development using knowledge-based protocols.
16
References
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An axiomatic proof technique for parallel programs I
Susan S. Owicki,David Gries +1 more
TL;DR: Hoare's deductive system for proving partial correctness of sequential programs is extended to include the parallelism described by the language, and the proof method lends insight into how one should understand and present parallel programs.
Proving Liveness Properties of Concurrent Programs
Susan S. Owicki,Leslie Lamport +1 more
TL;DR: A formal proof method, based on temporal logic, for deriving liveness properties is presented, which allows a rigorous formulation of simple informal arguments and how to reason with temporal logic and use safety (invariance) properties in proving liveness is shown.