A Decidable Logic for Describing Linked Data Structures

Michael Benedikt, Thomas W. Reps, Shmuel Sagiv

Abstract: This paper aims to provide a better formalism for describing properties of linked data structures (e.g., lists, trees, graphs), as well as the intermediate states that arise when such structures are destructively updated. The paper defines a new logic that is suitable for these purposes (called L r, for “logic of reachability expressions”). We show that L r is decidable, and explain how L r relates to two previously defined structuredescription formalisms (“path matrices” and “static shape graphs”) by showing how an arbitrary shape descriptor from each of these formalisms can be translated into an L r formula.