Formal Specification Level

This book introduces a new level of abstraction that closes the gap between the textual specification of embedded systems and the executable model at the Electronic System Level (ESL). Readers will be enabled to operate at this new, Formal Specification Level (FSL), using models which not only allow significant verification tasks in this early stage of the design flow, but also can be extracted semi-automatically from the textual specification in an interactive manner. The authors explain how to use these verification tasks to check conceptual properties, e.g. whether requirements are in conflict, as well as dynamic behavior, in terms of execution traces.

Formal Specification provides the reader with a practical and versatile approach to constructing program specifications. It includes both model-based (Z/VDM) and algebraic (CLEAR) paradigms of specification and emphasizes the range of languages and approaches available. Its main advantage over other specification books is that is offers an unrivaled breadth of coverage of the area, encompassing all the recent important advances.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 10th International Conference of Z Users, ZUM'97, held in Reading, UK, in April 1997. The volume presents 18 revised full papers together with three invited presentations by internationally leading experts. The papers are organized into topical sections on real-time systems, tools, logic, system development, reactive systems, refinement, and applications. Also a select Z bibliography by Jonathan Bowen is added. All in all, the book competently reports the state-of-the-art in research and advanced applications of the Z notation.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 4th International Conference of Z and B users, ZB 2005, held in Guildford, UK in April 2005. The 25 revised full papers presented together with extended abstracts of 2 invited papers were carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in the book. The papers document the recent advances for the Z formal specification notation and for the B method, ranging from foundational, theoretical, and methodological issues to advanced applications, tools, and case studies.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the First International Conference of B and Z Users, ZB 2000, held in York, UK in August/September 2000. The 25 revised full papers presented together with four invited contributions were carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in the book. The book documents the recent advances for the Z formal specification notion and for the B method; the full scope, ranging from foundational and theoretical issues to advanced applications, tools, and case studies, is covered.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-workshop proceedings of the 5th International Workshop on Structured Object-Oriented Formal Language and Method, SOFL+MSVL 2015, held in Paris, France, in November 2015. The 15 papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 22 submissions. The focus of this workshops was on following subjects: Modeling, specification, verification, model checking, testing, debugging, transformation, and algorithm.

1 In a number of recent presentations – most notably at FME’96 –oneofthe foremost scientists in the ?eld of formal methods, C.A.R. Hoare,has highlighted the fact that formal methods are not the only technique for producing reliable software. This seems to have caused some controversy,not least amongst formal methods practitioners. How can one of the founding fathers of formal methods seemingly denounce the ?eld of research after over a quarter of a century of support? This is a question that has been posed recently by some formal methods skeptics. However, Prof. Hoare has not abandoned formal methods. He is reiterating, 2 albeitmoreradically,his1987view thatmorethanonetoolandnotationwillbe requiredinthepractical,industrialdevelopmentoflarge-scalecomplexcomputer systems; and not all of these tools and notations will be, or even need be, formal in nature. Formalmethods arenotasolution,butratheroneofaselectionoftechniques that have proven to be useful in the development of reliable complex systems, and to result in hardware and software systems that can be produced on-time and within a budget, while satisfying the stated requirements. After almostthree decades,the time has come to view formalmethods in the context of overall industrial-scale system development, and their relationship to othertechniquesandmethods.Weshouldnolongerconsidertheissueofwhether we are “pro-formal” or “anti-formal”, but rather the degree of formality (if any) that we need to support in system development. This is a goal of ZUM’98, the 11th International Conference of Z Users, held for the ?rst time within continental Europe in the city of Berlin, Germany.