DROPS

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CSL.2025.19

Two-Way One-Counter Nets Revisited

Authors: Shaull Almagor, Michaël Cadilhac, and Asaf Yeshurun

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 326, 33rd EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2025)

Abstract

One Counter Nets (OCNs) are finite-state automata equipped with a counter that cannot become negative, but cannot be explicitly tested for zero. Their close connection to various other models (e.g., PDAs, Vector Addition Systems, and Counter Automata) make them an attractive modeling tool. The two-way variant of OCNs (2-OCNs) was introduced in the 1980’s and shown to be more expressive than OCNs, so much so that the emptiness problem is undecidable already in the deterministic model (2-DOCNs). In a first part, we study the emptiness problem of natural restrictions of 2-OCNs, under the light of modern results about Vector Addition System with States (VASS). We show that emptiness is decidable for 2-OCNs over bounded languages (i.e., languages contained in a₁^* a₂^* ⋯ a_k^*), and decidable and Ackermann-complete for sweeping 2-OCNs, where the head direction only changes at the end-markers. Both decidability results revolve around reducing the problem to VASS reachability, but they rely on strikingly different approaches. In a second part, we study the expressive power of 2-OCNs, showing an array of connections between bounded languages, sweeping 2-OCNs, and semilinear languages. Most noteworthy among these connections, is that the bounded languages recognized by sweeping 2-OCNs are precisely those that are semilinear. Finally, we establish an intricate pumping lemma for 2-DOCNs and use it to show that there are OCN languages that are not 2-DOCN recognizable, improving on the known result that there are such 2-OCN languages.

Cite as

Shaull Almagor, Michaël Cadilhac, and Asaf Yeshurun. Two-Way One-Counter Nets Revisited. In 33rd EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 326, pp. 19:1-19:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{almagor_et_al:LIPIcs.CSL.2025.19,
  author =	{Almagor, Shaull and Cadilhac, Micha\"{e}l and Yeshurun, Asaf},
  title =	{{Two-Way One-Counter Nets Revisited}},
  booktitle =	{33rd EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2025)},
  pages =	{19:1--19:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-362-1},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{326},
  editor =	{Endrullis, J\"{o}rg and Schmitz, Sylvain},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CSL.2025.19},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-227765},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CSL.2025.19},
  annote =	{Keywords: Counter Net, Two way, Automata}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2022.18

Determinization of One-Counter Nets

Authors: Shaull Almagor and Asaf Yeshurun

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 243, 33rd International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2022)

Abstract

One-Counter Nets (OCNs) are finite-state automata equipped with a counter that is not allowed to become negative, but does not have zero tests. Their simplicity and close connection to various other models (e.g., VASS, Counter Machines and Pushdown Automata) make them an attractive model for studying the border of decidability for the classical decision problems. The deterministic fragment of OCNs (DOCNs) typically admits more tractable decision problems, and while these problems and the expressive power of DOCNs have been studied, the determinization problem, namely deciding whether an OCN admits an equivalent DOCN, has not received attention. We introduce four notions of OCN determinizability, which arise naturally due to intricacies in the model, and specifically, the interpretation of the initial counter value. We show that in general, determinizability is undecidable under most notions, but over a singleton alphabet (i.e., 1 dimensional VASS) one definition becomes decidable, and the rest become trivial, in that there is always an equivalent DOCN.

Cite as

Shaull Almagor and Asaf Yeshurun. Determinization of One-Counter Nets. In 33rd International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2022). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 243, pp. 18:1-18:23, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2022)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{almagor_et_al:LIPIcs.CONCUR.2022.18,
  author =	{Almagor, Shaull and Yeshurun, Asaf},
  title =	{{Determinization of One-Counter Nets}},
  booktitle =	{33rd International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2022)},
  pages =	{18:1--18:23},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-246-4},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2022},
  volume =	{243},
  editor =	{Klin, Bartek and Lasota, S{\l}awomir and Muscholl, Anca},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2022.18},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-170812},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2022.18},
  annote =	{Keywords: Determinization, One-Counter Net, Vector Addition System, Automata, Semilinear}
}

Search Results

Documents authored by Yeshurun, Asaf

Two-Way One-Counter Nets Revisited

Abstract

Cite as

Determinization of One-Counter Nets

Abstract

Cite as

Thanks for your feedback!

Could not send message