[2603.24747] Formal Semantics for Agentic Tool Protocols: A Process Calculus Approach

Computer Science > Artificial Intelligence arXiv:2603.24747 (cs) [Submitted on 25 Mar 2026] Title:Formal Semantics for Agentic Tool Protocols: A Process Calculus Approach Authors:Andreas Schlapbach View a PDF of the paper titled Formal Semantics for Agentic Tool Protocols: A Process Calculus Approach, by Andreas Schlapbach View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract:The emergence of large language model agents capable of invoking external tools has created urgent need for formal verification of agent protocols. Two paradigms dominate this space: Schema-Guided Dialogue (SGD), a research framework for zero-shot API generalization, and the Model Context Protocol (MCP), an industry standard for agent-tool integration. While both enable dynamic service discovery through schema descriptions, their formal relationship remains unexplored. Building on prior work establishing the conceptual convergence of these paradigms, we present the first process calculus formalization of SGD and MCP, proving they are structurally bisimilar under a well-defined mapping Phi. However, we demonstrate that the reverse mapping Phi^{-1} is partial and lossy, revealing critical gaps in MCP's expressivity. Through bidirectional analysis, we identify five principles -- semantic completeness, explicit action boundaries, failure mode documentation, progressive disclosure compatibility, and inter-tool relationship declaration -- as necessary and sufficient conditions for full behavioral equivalence. We formalize ...