Oracle Semantics for Concurrent Separation Logic

  • Aquinas Hobor | Princeton University

We define (with machine-checked proofs in Coq) a modular operational semantics for Concurrent C minor—a language with shared memory, spawnable threads, and first-class locks. By modular we mean that one can reason about sequential control and data-flow knowing almost nothing about concurrency, and one can reason about concurrency knowing almost nothing about sequential control and data-flow constructs. We present a Concurrent Separation Logic with first-class locks and threads, and prove its soundness with respect to the operational semantics. Using our modularity principle, we proved the sequential C.S.L. rules (those inherited from sequential Separation Logic) simply by adapting Appel & Blazy’s machine-checked soundness proofs. Our Concurrent C minor operational semantics is designed to connect to Leroy’s optimizing (sequential) C minor compiler; we propose our modular semantics as a way to adapt Leroy’s compiler-correctness proofs to the concurrent setting. Thus we will obtain end-to-end proofs: the properties you prove in Concurrent Separation Logic will be true of the program that actually executes on the machine.

Speaker Details

Aquinas Hobor was born near Chicago in 1981. He attended the University of Chicago and received degrees in mathematics and computer science. He is currently a graduate student at Princeton University, studying under Andrew Appel, and is hopes to graduate in August 2008.

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