Interactive and automated proofs for graph transformations

Abstract

This article explores methods to provide computer support for reasoning about graph transformations. We first define a general framework for representing graphs, graph morphisms and single graph rewriting steps. This setup allows for interactively reasoning about graph transformations. In order to achieve a higher degree of automation, we identify fragments of the graph description language in which we can reduce reasoning about global graph properties to reasoning about local properties, involving only a bounded number of nodes, which can be decided by Boolean satisfiability solving or even by deterministic computation of low complexity.