On Preset Homing and Synchronizing Sequences for Observable Input/Output Automata

Abstract: The paper is devoted to the problem of deriving synchronizing and homing experiments for nondeterministic Input/Output automata; corresponding input sequences are widely used in testing (non-initialized) discrete event systems. In active testing, there is an opportunity to set a system under test into a known initial state; in passive testing, a known current state allows to reduce the number of properties to be checked. In the paper, we note that such experiments for Input/Output automata are different from so-called “gedanken” experiments with classical Finite State Machines; the existence check conditions of such experiments are established for a predefined discipline of applying inputs and a method for its derivation is proposed when such an experiment exists. The obtained results allow to reduce the problem of deriving synchronizing and homing experiments for Input/Output automata to the well developed problem of deriving such experiments for appropriate classes of Finite State Machines.