Using the Command-Line Version of ProB: Difference between revisions

The command-line version of ProB, called probcli, offers many of the features of the standalone Tcl/Tk Version via the command-line. As such, you can run ProB from your shell scripts or in your Makefiles. These pages refer to version 1.6 of ProB. Some features are only available in the nightly build of ProB. You can run probcli –help to find out which commands are supported by your version of ProB. For Bash users we provide command completion support.

Note: the order of commands is not relevant for probcli (except within groups of commands such as -p MAXINT 127). Any argument that is not recognised by probcli is treated as a filename to be analysed.

Conventions used

The following conventions are used in this guide:

<replaceme>	All values that should be replaced with some value are shown withing < >
line breaks	Command synopsis for command may be broken up on several lines. When typing commands enter all option on the same line.

Synopsis

probcli [--help]
<filename> [ <options> ]

The underscore within all options can as of version 1.5.1-beta7 be replaced with dashes. Also, all commands can either be typed with single leading dashes or double leading dashes. For example, all of the following commands have the same effect:

probcli M.mch -model_check
probcli M.mch -model-check
probcli M.mch --model_check
probcli M.mch --model-check

Options

-mc <nr>

Description

model check; checking at most <nr> states

Example

 probcli my.mch -mc 100

Note: with a value of nr=1 ProB will only inspect the "virtual" root node (and compute its outgoing transitions). Also see the related options -nodead, -noinv, -nogoal, -noass to influence which kinds of errors are reported by -mc. You can also set a target goal predicate using the -goal "PRED" command and limit the scope of the model checking using the -scope "PRED" command.

-model_check

The same as -mc but without a limit on the number of nodes checked. ProB will run until the entire state space is explored.

-no<x>

Description

restrict errors reported by model checking (-mc), TLC model checking (-mc_with_tlc), animation (-animate) and execution (-execute) with <x>=dead,inv,goal,ass -nodead : do not report deadlocks -noinv : do not report invariant violations -nogoal : do not stop if a state satisfying the GOAL predicate has been found -noass : do not report assertion violations

Example

 probcli my.mch -mc 1000 -nodead -nogoal

-disable_timeout

Description

turn off ProB's timeout mechanism, e.g., for computing enabled operations and invariant checking; this can sometimes speed up model checking (-mc or -model_check) and animation (-animate). Available as of version 1.5.1-beta7.

Example

 probcli my.mch -model-check -disable-timeout

-bf

Description

proceed breadth-first during model checking

Example

 probcli my.mch -bf -mc 1000

-df

Description

proceed depth-first during model checking

Example

 probcli my.mch -df -mc 1000

-mc_mode <M>

Description

influence how the model checker proceeds. Available as of version 1.5.1. Supersedes the -df and -bf switches. Possible values for the mode <M> are: df (depth-first traversal), bf (breadth-first traversal), mixed (mixed depth-first / breadth-first traversal with random choice; currently the default), random (choosing next node to process completely at random), hash (similar to random, but uses the Prolog hash function of a node instead of a random number generator), heuristic (try and use HEURISTIC_FUNCTION provided by user in DEFINITIONS clause). Some explanations can be found in an example about directed model checking. out_degree_hash (prioritise nodes with fewer outgoing transitions; mainly useful for deadlock checking)

Example

 probcli my.mch -model_check -mc_mode random

--timeout <N>

Description

Global timeout in ms for model checking and refinement checking. This does not influence the timeout used for computing individual transitions/operations. This has to be set with the -p TIME_OUT <N>. Note that the TIME_OUT preference also influences other computations, such as invariant checking or static assertion checking, where it is multiplied by a factor. See the description of the -p option.

Example

probcli my.mch -timeout 10000

-t

Description

trace check (associated .trace file must exist)

Example

probcli my.mch -t

-init

Description

initialise specification

Example

probcli my.mch -init
nr_of_components(1)
% checking_component_properties(1,[])
% enumerating_constants_without_constraints([typedval(fd(_24428,ID),global(ID),iv)])
% grounding_wait_flags
grounding_component(1)
grounding_component(2)
% found_enumeration_of_constants(0,2)
% backtrack(found_enumeration_of_constants(0,2))
% found_enumeration_of_constants(0,1)
% backtrack(found_enumeration_of_constants(0,1))
<- 0: SETUP_CONSTANTS :: root
% Could not set up constants with parameters from trace file.
% Will attempt any possible initialisation of constants.
 | 0: SETUP_CONSTANTS success -->0
 - <- 1: INITIALISATION :: 0
% Could not initialise with parameters from trace file.
% Will attempt any possible initialisation.
ALL OPERATIONS COVERED
 -  | 1: INITIALISATION success -->2
 -  - SUCCESS

-cbc <OPNAME>

Description

constraint-based invariant checking for an operation (also use <OPNAME>=all)

Example

probcli my.mch -cbc all

-cbc_deadlock

Description

Perform constraint-based deadlock checking (also use -cbc_deadlock_pred PRED)

This will try to find a state which satisfies the invariant and properties and where no operation/event is enabled. Note: if ProB finds a counter example then the machine cannot be proven to be deadlock free. However, the particular state may not be reachable from the initial state(s). If you want to find a reachable deadlock you have to use the model checker.

-cbc_deadlock_pred <PRED>

Description

Constraint-based deadlock finding given a predicate

This is like -cbc_deadlock but you provide an additional predicate. ProB will only find deadlocks which also make this predicate true.

Example

probcli my.mch  -cbc_deadlock_pred "n=15"

-cbc_assertions

Description

Constraint-based checking of assertions on constants

This will try and find a solution for the constants which make an assertion (on constants) false.

You can use the extra command -cbc_output_file FILE to write the result of this check to a file. You can also use the extra command -cbc_option contradiction_check to ask ProB to check if there is a contradiction in the properties (in case the check did not find a counter-example to the assertions). The extra command -cbc_option unsat_core tells ProB to compute the unsatisfiable core in case a proof the assertions was found. Note that the TIME_OUT preference is multiplied by 10 for this command.

There are various variations of this command:

-cbc_assertions_proof
-cbc_assertions_tautology_proof 

Both commands do not allow enumeration warnings to occur. The latter command ignores the PROPERTIES and tries to check whether the ASSERTION(s) are tautologies. Both commands can be useful to use ProB as a Prover/Disprover (as is done in Atelier-B 4.3).

-cbc_sequence <SEQ>

Description

Constraint-based searching for a sequence of operation names (separated by semicolons)

This will try and find a solution for the constants, initial variable values and parameters which make execution of the given sequence of operations possible.

Example

probcli my.mch  -cbc_sequence "op1;op2"

-strict

Description

raise error and stop probcli if anything unexpected happens, e.g., if model checking finds a counter example or trace checking fails or any unexpected error happens

Example

probcli my.mch -t -strict

-expcterr <ERR>

Description

expect error to occur (<ERR>=cbc,mc,ltl,...) Tell ProB that you expect a certain error to occur. Mainly useful for regression tests (in conjunction with the -strict option).

Example

probcli examples/B/Benchmarks/CarlaTravelAgencyErr.mch -mc 1000 -expcterr invariant_violation -strict

-animate <Nr>

Description

random animation (max Nr steps)

Animates the machine randomly, maximally Nr of steps. It will stop if a deadlock is reached and report an error. You can also use the command -animate_all, which will only stop at a deadlock (and not report an error). Be careful: -animate_all could run forever.

Example

probcli my.mch -animate 100

-execute <Nr>

Description

execution (max Nr steps)

Executes the "first" enabled operation of a machine, maximally Nr of steps. It will stop if a deadlock is reached and report an error. You can also use the command -execute_all, which will only stop at a deadlock (and not report an error). Be careful: -execute_all could run forever.

In contrast to -animate, -execute will

• always choose the first enabled operation it finds and stop searching for further enabled operations in that state (-animate will compute all enabled operations up to the limit set by the MAX_OPERATIONS or MAX_INITIALISATIONS preference and then choose randomly); the order of operations in the B machine is thus important for -execute
• not store intermediate states in the state space; as such -execute is faster but after execution one only has access to the first state and the final state of execution

Example

probcli my.mch -execute 100

-det_check

Description

check if animation steps are deterministic

Checks if every step of the animation is deterministic (i.e., only one operation is possible, and it can only be executed in one possible way as far as parameters and result is concerned). Currently this option has only an effect for the -animate <Nr> and the -init commands.

Example

probcli my.mch -animate 100 -det_check

-det_constants

Description

check if animation steps are deterministic

Checks if the SETUP_CONSTANTS step is deterministic (i.e., only one way to set up the constants is possible). Currently this option has only an effect for the -animate <Nr> and the -init commands.

Example

probcli my.mch -init -det_constants

-his <FILE>

Description

save animation history to a file

Save the animation (or model checking) history to a text file. Operations are separated by semicolons. The output can be adapted using the -his_option command. With -his_option show_states the -his command will also write out all states to the file (in the form of comments before and after operations). With -his_option show_init only the initial state is written out. The -his command is executed after the -init, -animate, -t or -mc commands. See also the -sptxt command to only write the current values of variables and constants to a file.

Example

probcli -animate 5 -his history.txt  supersimple.mch

Additionally we can have the initialised variables and constants:

probcli -animate 5 -his history.txt -his_option show_init supersimple.mch

And we can have in addition the values of the variables in between (and at the end):

probcli -animate 5 -his history.txt -his_option show_states supersimple.mch

With -his_option trace_file as only option, probcli will write the history in Prolog format, which can later be used by the -t command.

-i

Description

interactive animation

After performing the other commands, ProB stays in interactive mode and allows the user to manually animate the loaded specification.

Example

probcli my.mch -i

-repl

Description

start interactive read-eval-print-loop

Example

probcli my.mch -p CLPFD TRUE -repl

A list of commands can be obtained by typing :help (just help for versions 1.3.x of probcli). The interactive read-eval-print-loop can be exited using :q (just typing a return on a blank line for versions 1.3.x of probcli).. If in addition you want see a graphical representation of the solutions found you can use the following command and open the out.dot file using dotty or GraphViz:

probcli -repl -evaldot ~/out.dot

You can also use the -eval command to evaluate specific formulas or expressions:

probcli -eval "1+2"

For convenience, these formulas can also be put into a separate file:

probcli -eval_file MyFormula.txt

-c

Description

print coverage statistics

Example

probcli my.mch -mc 1000 -c

You can also use the longer name for the command:

probcli my.mch -mc 1000 --coverage

There is also a version which prints a shorter summary (and which is much faster for large state spaces):

probcli my.mch -mc 1000 --coverage_summary

-cc <Nr> <Nr>

Description

print and check coverage statistics Print coverage statistics and check that the given number of nodes and transitions have been computed.

Example

probcli my.mch -mc 1000 -cc 10 25

-p <PREFERENCE> <VALUE>

Description

Set <PREFERENCE> to <VALUE>. For more information about preferences please have a look at Preferences

You can also use --pref instead of -p. Example

probcli my.mch -p TIME_OUT 8000 -p CLPFD TRUE -mc 10000

-pref_group <PREFGROUP> <SETTING>

Description

set to the group of preferences <PREFGROUP> to a predefined setting <SETTING>

Example

probcli my.mch -pref_group model_check unlimited

Available groups and settings are:

• PREFERENCE GROUP integer : SETTINGS [int32] : Values for MAXINT and MININT
• PREFERENCE GROUP time_out : SETTINGS [disable_time_out] : To disable TIME_OUT
• PREFERENCE GROUP model_check : SETTINGS [disable_max,unlimited] : Model Checking Limits
• PREFERENCE GROUP dot_colors : SETTINGS [classic,dreams,winter] : Colours for Dot graphs

-prefs <FILE>

Description

Set preferences from preference file <FILE>. The file should be created by the Tcl/Tk version of ProB; this version automatically creates a file called ProB_Preferences.pl. For more information about preferences please have a look at Preferences

Example

probcli my.mch -prefs ProB_Preferences.pl

-card <GS> <VAL>

Description

set cardinality (scope in Alloy terminology) of a B deferred set. This overrides the default cardinality (which can be set using -p DEFAULT_SETSIZE <VAL>).

Example

probcli my.mch -card PID 5

-goal <PRED>

Description

set GOAL predicate for model checker

Example

probcli my.mch -mc 10000000 -goal "n=18"  -strict -expcterr goal_found

-scope <PRED>

Description

set SCOPE predicate for model checker; states which do not satisfy the SCOPE predicate will be ignored (invariant will not be checked and no outgoing transitions will be computed)

Example

probcli my.mch -mc 10000000 -scope "n<18"  

-s <PORT>

Description

start socket server on given port

Example

probcli my.mch ...

-ss

Description

start socket server on port 9000

Example

probcli my.mch ...

-sf

Description

start socket server on some free port

Example

probcli my.mch ...

-sptxt <FILE>

Description

save constants and variables to a file

Save the values of constants and variables to a text file in classical B syntax. The -sptxt command is executed after the -init, -animate, -t or -mc commands. The values are fully written out (some sets, e.g., infinite sets may be written out symbolically).

See also the -his command.

Example

probcli -animate 5 -sptxt state.txt  supersimple.mch

This will write the values of all variables and constants to the file state.txt after animating the machine 5 steps.

-cache <DIRECTORY>

Description

save constants (and in future also variables) to a file to avoid recomputation

This commands saves the values of constants for the current B machine and puts those values into files in the specified directory. The command will also tell ProB to try and reuse constants saved for subsidiary machines (included using SEES for example) whenever possible. The purpose of the command is to avoid recomputing constants as much as possible, as this can be very time consuming. This also works for values of variables computed in the initialisation or even using operations. However, we do not support refinements at the moment.

Note: this command can also be used when starting up the ProB Tcl/Tk version.

-logxml <LogFile>

Description

log activities and results of probcli in XML format in <LogFile>

A schema declaration file (xsd) can be found at doc/logxml_xsd.xml in the ProB Prolog sources. The log file contains information about the various commands performed by probcli. It also contains version information, the parameters provided to probcli and details about the errors that occured.

Example

probcli my.mch -mc 1000 -logxml log.xml

-logxml_write_vars <PREFIX>

Description

after processing other commands (such as -execute) write values of variables having prefix PREFIX in their name into the XML log file (if XML logging has been activated using the -logxml command)

Example

probcli my.mch -execute 1000 -logxml log.xml -logxml_write_vars out

-l <LogFile>

Description

log activities in <LogFile> using Prolog format

Example

probcli my.mch -mc 1000 -l my.log

-ll

Description

log activities in /tmp/prob_cli_debug.log

Example

probcli my.mch -mc 1000 -ll

-lg <LogFile>

Description

analyse <LogFile> using gnuplot

Example

probcli my.mch ...

-pp <FILE>

Description

pretty-print internal representation to <FILE>

Example

probcli my.mch -pp my_pp.mch

-ppf <FILE>

Description

pretty-print internal representation to <FILE>, force printing of all type infos

Example

probcli my.mch -ppf my_ppf.mch

-v

Description

set ProB into verbose mode

Example

probcli my.mch -mc 1000 -v

-version

Description

print version information

There is also an alternate command called -svers which just prints the version number of ProB. Example

probcli -version
ProB Command Line Interface
  VERSION 1.3.4-rc1 (9556:9570M)
  $LastChangedDate: 2011-11-16 18:36:18 +0100 (Wed, 16 Nov 2011) $
  Prolog: SICStus 4.2.0 (x86_64-darwin-10.6.0): Mon Mar  7 20:03:36 CET 2011
  Application Path: /Users/leuschel/svn_root/NewProB

probcli -svers
VERSION 1.3.4-rc1 (9556:9570M)

You can use probcli -version -v to obtain more information about your version of probcli.

-check_java_version

Description

check Java and B parser version information

This command is available as of ProB version 1.5.1-beta5 or higher. It can be useful to check that your Java is correctly installed and that the ProB B parser can operate correctly

probcli -check_java_version
Result of checking Java version:
 Java is correctly installed and version 1.7.0_55-b13 is compatible with ProB requirements (>= 1.7).
 ProB B Java Parser available in version: 2016-02-25 15:27:18.55.

-assertions

Description

check ASSERTIONS of your machine If you provide the -t switch, the ASSERTIONS will be checked after executing your trace. Otherwise, they will be checked in an initial state. ProB will automatically initialize the machine if you have not provide the -init or -t switch. You can also use -main_assertions to check only the ASSERTIONS found in the main file. If your ASSERTIONS are all static (i.e., make no reference to variables), then ProB will remove all CONSTANTS and PROPERTIES from your machine which are not linked (directly or indirectly) to the ASSERTIONS. This optimization will only be made if you provide no other switch, such as -mc or -animate which may require the computation of the variables.

Example

probcli my.mch -init -assertions

-property

Description

virtually add predicate to PROPERTIES

Example

probcli my.mch -property "PRED"

-properties

Description

check PROPERTIES Note: you should probably first initialise the machine (e.g., with -init). If the constants have not yet been set up, probcli will debug the properties.

Example

probcli my.mch -init -properties

-dot_output <PATH>

Description

define path for generation of dot files for false properties or assertions

This option is applicable to -properties and -assertions. It will result in individual dot files being generated for every false or unknown property or assertion. Assertions are numbered A0,A1,... and properties P0,P1,... You can also force to generate dot files for all properties (i.e., also the true ones) using the -dot_all command-line flag.

Example

probcli my.mch -init -properties -dot_output somewhere/

This will generate files somewhere/my_P0_false.dot, somewhere/my_P1_false.dot, ...

-rc

Description

runtime checking of types/pre-/post-conditions

Example

probcli my.mch ...

-ltlfile <FILE>

Description

check LTL formulas in file <FILE>

Example

probcli my.mch ...

-ltlassertions

Description

check LTL assertions (in DEFINITIONS)

Example

probcli my.mch ...

-ltllimit <LIMIT>

Description

explore at most <LIMIT> states when model-checking LTL

Example

probcli my.mch ...

-save <FILE>

Description

save state space for later refinement check

Example

probcli my.mch ...

-refchk <FILE>

Description

refinement check against previous saved state space

Example

probcli my.mch ...

-mcm_tests <Depth> <MaxStates> <EndPredicate> <FILE>

Generate test cases for the given specification. Each test case consists of a sequence of operations resp. events (a so-called trace) that

• start in a state after an initialisation
• contain a requested operation/event
• end in a state where the <EndPredicate> is fulfilled

The user can specify what requested operations/events are with the option -mcm_cover.

ProB uses a "breadth-first" approach to search for test cases. When all requested operations/events are covered by test cases within maximum length M, the algorithm will explore the complete state space with that maximum distance M from the initialisation. It outputs all found traces that satisfy the requirements above.

The algorithm stops if either

• it has covered all required operations/events with the current search depth
• or it has reached the maximum search depth or maximum number of explored states.

The required parameters are:

Depth

The maximum length of traces that the algorithm searches for test until it stops without covering all required operations/events.

MaxStates

The maximum number of explored states until the algorithm stops without covering all required operations/events.

EndPredicate

A predicate in B syntax that the last state of a trace must fulfil. If you do not have any restrictions on that state, use a trivially true predicate like 1=1

FILE

The found test cases a written to the XML file <FILE>.

Example

probcli my.mch -mcm_tests 10 2000 "EndStateVar=TRUE" testcases.xml -mcm_cover op1,op2

generates test cases for the operations op1 and op2 of the specification my.mch. The maximum length of traces is 10, at most 2000 states are explored. Each test case ends in a state where the predicate EndStateVar=TRUE holds. The found test cases are written to a file testcases.xml.

As of version 1.6.0, the operation arguments are also written to the XML file. The preference INTERNAL_ARGUMENT_PREFIX can be used to provide a prefix for internal operation arguments; any argument/parameter whose name starts with that prefix is considered an internal parameter and not shown in the trace file. Also, as of version 1.6.0, the non-deterministic initialisations are shown in the XML trace file: all variables and constants where more than one possible initialisation exists are written into the trace file, as argument of an INITIALISATION event.

-mcm_cover <Operation(s)>

Specify an operation or event that should be covered when generating test cases with the -mcm_test option. Multiple operations/events can be specified by seperating them by comma or by using -mcm_cover several times.

See -mcm-tests for further details.

-spdot <FILE>

Description

Write graph of the state space to a dot <FILE>

Example

probcli my.mch -mc 100 -spdot my_statespace.dot

-cbc_tests <Depth> <EndPredicate> <File>

Generate test cases by constraint solving with maximum length Depth, the last state satisfies EndPredicate and the test cases are written to File. If the predicate is the empty string we assume truth. If the filename is the empty string no file is generated. See also the page on Test_Case_Generation.

-cbc_cover <Operation>

When generating CB test cases, Operation should be covered. The option can be given multiple times to specify several operations.

Alternatively, multiple operations can be separated by a comma. You can also use the option

-cbc_cover_match PartialName

to match all operations whose name contains PartialName. See also the page about Test_Case_Generation.

-test_description <File>

Read the options for constraint based test case generation from File.

-bmc <Depth>

Run the bounded model checker until maximum trace depth <Depth> specified. Looks for invariant violations using the constraint-based test case generation algorithm.

Example

probcli my.mch -bmc 20

-csp-guide <File>

Use the CSP File File to guide the B Machine ("CSP||B"). (This feature is included since version 1.3.5-beta7.)

Environment Variables

Set NO_COLOR environment variable to disable terminal colors. See https://no-color.org.

Preferences

You can use these preferences within the command:

-p <PREFERENCE> <VALUE>

<PREFERENCE>	<VALUE>
MAXINT	nat ==> MaxInt, used for expressions such as xx::NAT (2147483647 for 4 byte ints)
MININT	neg ==> MinInt, used for expressions such as xx::INT (-2147483648 for 4 byte ints)
DEFAULT_SETSIZE	nat ==> Size of unspecified deferred sets in SETS section. Will be used if a set s is neither enumerated, has no no card(s)=nr predicate in the PROPERTIES and has no scope_s == Nr DEFINITION.
MAX_INITIALISATIONS	nat ==> Max Number of Initialisations and ways to setup constants computed
MAX_OPERATIONS	nat ==> Max Number of Enablings per Operation Computed
ANIMATE_SKIP_OPERATIONS	bool ==> Animate operations which are skip or PRE C THEN skip
COMPRESSION	bool ==> Use more aggressive COMPRESSION when storing states
EXPAND_CLOSURES_FOR_STATE	bool ==> Convert lazy form back into explicit form for Variables, Constants, Operation Arguments. ProB will sometimes try to keep certain sets symbolic. If this preference is TRUE then ProB will try to expand those sets for variables and constants after an operation has been executed.
SYMBOLIC	bool ==> Lazy expansion of lambdas and set comprehensions. By default ProB will keep certain sets symbolic (e.g., sets it knows are infinite). When this preference is set to TRUE then all set comprehensions and lambda abstractions will at first be kept symbolic and only expanded into explicit form if needed.
CLPFD	bool ==> Use CLP(FD) solver for B integers (restricts range to -2^28..2^28-1 on 32 bit computers). Setting this preference to TRUE should substantially improve ProB's ability to solve complicated predicates involving integers. However, it may cause CLP(FD) overflows in certain circumstances.
SMT	bool ==> Enable SMT-Mode (aggressive treatment of : and /: inside predicates). With this predicate set to TRUE ProB will be better at solving certain constraint solving tasks. It should be enabled when doing constraint-based invariant or deadlock checking. ProB Tcl/Tk will turn this preference on automatically for those checks.
STATIC_ORDERING	bool ==> Use static ordering to enumerate constants which occur in most PROPERTIES first
SYMMETRY_MODE	[off,flood,nauty,hash] ==> Symmetry Mode: off,flood,canon,nauty,hash
TIME_OUT	nat1 ==> Time out for computing enabled transitions (in ms, is multiplied by a factor for other computations)
PROOF_INFO	bool ==> Use Proof Information to restrict invariant checking to affected unproven clauses. Most useful in EventB for models exported from Rodin.
TRY_FIND_ABORT	bool ==> Try more aggressively to detect ill-defined expressions (e.g. applying function outside of domain), may slow down animator
NUMBER_OF_ANIMATED_ABSTRACTIONS	nat ==> How many levels of refined models are animated by default
ALLOW_INCOMPLETE_SETUP_CONSTANTS	bool ==> Allow ProB to proceed even if only part of the CONSTANTS have been found.
PARTITION_PROPERTIES	bool ==> Partition predicates (PROPERTIES) into components
USE_RECORD_CONSTRUCTION	bool ==> Records: Check if axioms/properties describe a record pattern
OPERATION_REUSE	bool ==> Try and reuse previously computed operation effects in B/Event-B
SHOW_EVENTB_ANY_VALUES	bool ==> Show top-level ANY variable values of B Operations without parameters as parameters
RANDOMISE_OPERATION_ORDER	bool ==> Randomise order of operations when computing successor states
EXPAND_FORALL_UPTO	nat ==> When analysing predicates: max. domain size for expansion of forall (use 0 to disable expansion)
MAX_DISPLAY_SET	int ==> Max size for pretty-printing sets (-1 means no limit)
CSP_STRIP_SOURCE_LOC	bool ==> Strip source location for CSP; will speed up model checking
WARN_WHEN_EXPANDING_INFINITE_CLOSURES	int ==> Warn when expanding infinite closures if MAXINT larger than:
TRACE_INFO	bool ==> Provide various tracing information on the terminal/console.
DOUBLE_EVALUATION	bool ==> Evaluate PREDICATES positively and negatively when analyzing assertions or properties
RECURSIVE	bool ==> Lazy expansion of *Recursive* set Comprehensions and lambdas
IGNORE_HASH_COLLISIONS	bool ==> Ignore Hash Collisions (if true not all states may be computed, visited states are not memorised !)
FORGET_STATE_SPACE	bool ==> Do not remember state space (mainly useful in conjunction with Ignore Hash Collisions)
NEGATED_INVARIANT_CHECKING	bool ==> Perform double evaluation (positive and negative) when checking invariants
CSE	bool ==> Perform common-sub-expression elimination
CSE_SUBST	bool ==> Perform common-sub-expression elimination also for B substitutions

Example

probcli my.mch -p TIME_OUT 5000 -p CLPFD TRUE -p SYMMETRY_MODE hash -mc 1000

Some probcli examples

To load a file My.mch, setup the constants and initialize it do:

probcli -init My.mch

To load a file M.mch, setup the constants, initialize and then check all assertions with Atelier-B's default values for MININT and MAXINT and an increased timeout of 5 seconds do:

probcli -init -assertions -p MAXINT 2147483647 -p MININT -2147483647 -p TIME_OUT 5000 M.mch

To fully model check a specification M.mch while tryining to minimize memory consumption do:

probcli -model_check -p COMPRESSION TRUE M.mch

To model check a specification M.mch while trying to minimize memory consumption further by not storing processed stats and using symmetry reduction (and accepting hash collisions) do:

probcli -p COMPRESSION -p IGNORE_HASH_COLLISIONS TRUE -p FORGET_STATE_SPACE TRUE -p SYMMETRY_MODE hash -model_check M.mch 

Command-line Arguments for ProB Tcl/Tk

Note that the stand-alone Tcl/Tk version also supports a limited form of command-line preferences:

• FILE (the name/path of the file to be loaded)
• -prefs PREF_FILE (to use a specific preferences file, rather than the default ProB_Preferences.pl in your home folder)
• -batch (to instruct ProB not to try to bring up windows, but to print information only to the terminal)
• -selfcheck (to run the standard unit tests)
• -t (to perform the Trace Check on the default trace file associated with the specification)
• -tcl TCL_Command (to run a particular pre-defined Tcl command)
• -mc (to perform model checking)
• -c (to compute the coverage)
• -ref (to perform the default trace refinment check)

However, the comand-line version of ProB, called probcli, provides more features. It also does not depend on Tcl/Tk and can therefore be run on systems without Tcl/Tk.

Feedback

Please help us to improve this documentation by providing feedback in our bug tracker, asking questions in our prob-users group or sending an email to Michael Leuschel.