Abstract. Software product line engineering combines the individual developments of systems to the development of a family of systems consisting of common and variable assets. In this paper we introduce the process algebra PL-CCS as a product line extension of CCS and show how to model the overall behavior of an entire family within PL-CCS. PL-CCS models incorporate behavioral variability and allow the derivation of individual systems in a systematic way due to a semantics given in terms of multi-valued modal Kripke structures. Furthermore, we introduce multi-valued modal µ-calculus as a property specification language for system families specified in PL-CCS and show how model checking techniques operate on such structures. In our setting the result of model checking is no longer a simple yes or no answer but the set of systems of the product line that do meet the specified properties.

This paper builds on product line CCS (PL-CCS), an algebraic approach to modeling the behavior of software product lines. The semantics of PL-CCS specifications is given in terms of labeled transition systems for individual products as well as for the entire product line and can be derived automatically. In this paper, we extend PL-CCS with a concept for specifying dependencies, show how to integrate it into a development methodology for product lines and validate its practical applicability by modeling a typical reactive system from the automotive domain. Most importantly, due to the algebraic nature of our model, we can derive calculation laws that allow to compute common parts of a product line. The application of the corresponding calculation rules is illustrated in detail with an example. By this, we obtain a formal foundation for restructuring product lines.

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