Model Checking Active Database Rules

An active database is an autonomical database system that can react to events occurring inside and outside of the database. A set of active database rules defines a reactive behavior of the active database. One of the most potential problems with active database systems is nontermination of active database rules. This paper proposes an approach for automatically checking the termination of active database rules by a model checking technique. In our approach, we give a general framework for modeling active database systems and rules which can be useful for analyzing rule behaviors under various execution semantics and contexts of active database rules. Based on the proposed modeling framework, we model check the termination property of active database rules using a model checking tool, SPIN. Through experimental results, we show the feasibility of the proposed method.