Simulating Reactive Systems by Deduction

Debugging is one of the main uses of simulation. Localizing bugs or finding the reasons for unclear behavior involves going backwards in time, whereas simulation goes forward in time. Therefore, identifying causes with the aid of most existing simulation tools usually requires repeating the simulation several times, each time with reduced holes in the sieve. An alternative is simulation by deduction, a technique in which the steps in the dynamic behavior of the simulated model are deduced by a reasoning system. A simulation system that uses simulation by deduction can give direct answers to questions about the reasons for the simulation results. By recording the support for its deductions, such a system can answer "why" and "why not" questions about the scenario. Another benefit of simulation by deduction is that it enables symbolic simulation, that is, simulating a scenario given only a partial description of the environment and the simulated model. This allows verifying properties of..