Early fault detection in DSLs using SMT solving and automated debugging

In the context of Domain Specific Languages (DSLs), we study ways to detect faults early in the software development cycle. We propose techniques that validate a wide range of properties, classified into basic and advanced. Basic validation includes syntax checking, reference checking and type checking. Advanced validation concerns domain specific properties related to the semantics of the DSL. For verification, we mechanically translate the DSL instance and the advanced properties into Satisfiability Modulo Theory (SMT) problems, and solve these problems using an SMT solver. For user feedback, we extend the verification with automated debugging, which pinpoints the causes of the violated properties and traces them back to the syntactic constructs of the DSL. We illustrate this integration of techniques using an industrial case on collision prevention for medical imaging equipment. Keywords: Early Fault Detection; Formal Verification; Domain Specific Language (DSL); Satisfiability Modulo Theories (SMT); Delta Debuggin