Introduction to the Special Issue on Runtime Verification

Runtime verification (RV) refers to methods for formal reasoning about all aspects of the dynamic execution of systems, including hardware, software, and cyber-physical systems. RV includes techniques to assess and enforce correctness of a system against systemic bugs or extrinsic uncertainties. These methods are typically considered lightweight as they may not involve exhaustive verification or proofs, but they provide a higher level of rigor and versatility compared to conventional testing methods. This article introduces the extended versions of selected papers from the peer-reviewed proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Runtime Verification (RV 2021). RV 2021 was supposed to be held in Los Angeles, California, USA in November 2021, but was instead held virtually due to the global Covid-19 pandemic.