Patterns in property specifications for finite-state verification

Model checkers and other finite-state verification tools allow developers to detect certain kinds of errors automatically. Nevertheless, the transition of this technology from research to practice has been slow. While there are a number of potential causes for reluctance to adopt such formal methods, we believe that a primary cause is that practitioners are unfamiliar with specification processes, notations, and strategies. In a recent paper, we proposed a pattern-based approach to the presentation, codification and reuse of property specifications for finite-state verification. Since then, we have carried out a survey of available specifications, collecting over 500 examples of property specifications. We found that most are instances of our proposed patterns. Furthermore, we have updated our pattern system to accommodate new patterns and variations of existing patterns encountered in this survey. This paper reports the results of the survey and the current status of our pattern system.