Abstract
Most modern relational database systems use triggers to implement automatic tasks in response to specific events happening inside or outside a system. A database trigger is a human readable block code without any formal semantics. Frequently, people can check if a trigger is designed correctly after it is executed or by manual checking. In this article, the authors introduce a new method to model and verify database trigger systems using Event-B formal method at design phase. First, the authors make use of similar mechanism between triggers and Event-B events to propose a set of rules translating a database trigger system into Event-B constructs. Then, the authors show how to verify data constraint preservation properties and detect infinite loops of trigger execution with RODIN/Event-B. The authors also illustrate the proposed method with a case study. Finally, a tool named Trigger2B which partly supports the automatic modeling process is presented.
Highlights
Traditional database management systems (DBMS) are passive as they execute commands when applications or users perform appropriate queries
We presented a set of translation rules to translate a database system including triggers to an Event-B model
If we show that this invariant is preserved by machine DB_M0, execution of two triggers leads to an infinite loop
Summary
Traditional database management systems (DBMS) are passive as they execute commands when applications or users perform appropriate queries. Most modern relational databases include these features as triggers (or active rules) that monitor and react to specific events happening inside and outside of a system. They use triggers to implement automatic tasks when a predefined event occurs. A method or an approach with supporting tools, which is feasible to apply in database development to check both data constraints and infinite loops, is desirable. With the proposed modeling method, we can formally check if a system preserves the data constraints and find infinite loops by proving the proof obligations of the translated Event-B model.
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