UPPAAL vs Why3
UPPAAL
uppaal.orgWhy3
why3.orgSide by side
| Figure | UPPAAL | Why3 |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Formal Verification Tools | 7.3 (#28) | 8.0 (#12) |
| Development | UPPAAL was created through collaboration between Uppsala University and Aalborg University and is maintained by Aalborg University's Distributed, Embedded and Intelligent Systems group. | Why3 is developed by the Inria Toccata team, a joint research team of Inria Saclay-Île-de-France, Université Paris-Saclay, and CNRS. |
| Purpose | UPPAAL is an integrated environment for modeling, simulation, and verification of real-time systems represented as networks of timed automata. | Why3 is a platform for deductive program verification that uses WhyML and external theorem provers to discharge verification conditions. |
| Support | Academic support is community-based, with documentation, discussions, mailing lists, and Stack Overflow; the team says it may be unable to answer all direct requests. | The project provides a user mailing list, a Zulip chat, and a bug tracking system. |
Plans
In their own words
UPPAAL
UPPAAL is an integrated environment for modeling, simulating, and verifying real-time systems as networks of timed automata. Its language supports clock and data variables, including bounded integers and arrays. The model checker uses symbolic state-space exploration for invariant and reachability properties and can produce diagnostic traces. Statistical Model Checking estimates probabilities, compares a probability with a value, or compares two probabilities. UPPAAL Stratego supports generating, optimizing, comparing, and exploring strategies for stochastic priced timed games. Related tools include CORA, TRON, TIGA, ECDAR, and COSHY for cost-optimal analysis, testing, timed games, refinement, and hybrid-system control. Typical applications include real-time controllers and timing-critical communication protocols. Desktop packages support Windows, macOS, and Linux, including macOS x86_64 and Aarch64. The graphical interface needs Java 17 or later; verifyta runs without Java. Academic users register for a free license key, retrieved over the internet. Commercial and other non-academic use requires a separate license.
Why3
Why3 is a platform for deductive program verification. It uses WhyML to express programs and specifications, then works with external automated or interactive theorem provers to discharge verification conditions. WhyML supports preconditions, postconditions, assertions, and loop invariants, alongside logical theories and data structures such as arrays, queues, and hash tables. External provers need to be installed and configured separately. Why3 can be extended with support for new provers and used as a software library through its OCaml API. WhyML programs can be extracted automatically into correct-by-construction OCaml programs, and WhyML is also used as an intermediate language for verification of C, Java, Rust, and Ada. TryWhy3 provides a JavaScript version that runs in a browser. Installation options include Opam, Docker, source compilation, and listed Debian, Fedora, and Ubuntu packages. Its graphical interface saves proof attempts and transformations in an XML file and can replay obsolete attempts. Why3 is free and open source under GNU LGPL 2.1 with a special linking exception. Loop invariant inference is a work in progress, and many features remain very limited.