Convex geometry | Geometric data structures | Polytopes
Difference bound matrix
In model checking, a field of computer science, a difference bound matrix (DBM) is a data structure used to represent some convex polytopes called zones. This structure can be used to efficiently implement some geometrical operations over zones, such as testing emptyness, inclusion, equality, and computing the intersection and the sum of two zones. It is, for example, used in the Uppaal model checker; where it is also distributed as an independent library. More precisely, there is a notion of canonical DBM; there is a one-to-one relation between canonical DBMs and zones and from each DBM a canonical equivalent DBM can be efficiently computed. Thus, equality of zone can be tested by checking for equality of canonical DBMs. (Wikipedia).
