Sequential Abstract State Machines Capture Sequential Algorithms

  • Yuri Gurevich

MSR-TR-99-65 |

ACM Transactions on Computational Logic (TOCL)

Publication

We examine sequential algorithms and formulate a Sequential Time Postulate, and Abstract State Postulate, and a Bounded Exploration Postulate. Analysis of the postulates leads us to the notion of sequential abstract state machine and to the theorem in the title. First we treat sequential algorithms that are deterministic and noninteractive. Then we consider sequential algorithms that may be non deterministic and that may interact with their environments.