Reasoning About Naming Systems
C. Mic Bowman Saumya K. Debray
Larry L. Peterson
Abstract
This paper reasons about naming systems as specialized inference
mechanisms. It describes a preference hierarchy that can be used
to specify the structure of a naming system's inference mechanism and
defines criteria by which different naming systems can be evaluated.
For example, the preference hierarchy allows us to compare naming systems
based on how discriminating they are, and to identify the class
of names for which a given naming system is sound and complete.
A study of several example naming systems demonstrates how the preference
hierarchy can be used as a formal tool for designing naming systems.
