Session-based concurrency, declaratively

Abstract

Session-based concurrency is a type-based approach to the analysis of message-passing programs. These programs may be specified in an operational or declarative style: the former defines how interactions are properly structured; the latter defines governing conditions for correct interactions. In this paper, we study rigorous relationships between operational and declarative models of session-based concurrency. We develop a correct encoding of session \(\pi \)-calculus processes into the linear concurrent constraint calculus (\(\texttt {lcc}\)), a declarative model of concurrency based on partial information (constraints). We exploit session types to ensure that our encoding satisfies precise correctness properties and that it offers a sound basis on which operational and declarative requirements can be jointly specified and reasoned about. We demonstrate the applicability of our results by using our encoding in the specification of realistic communication patterns with time and contextual information.