Recent Trends In Data Type Specification

The algebraic specification of abstract data types has been a flourishing research topic in computer science since 1974. The main goal of this work isto evolve theoretical foundations and a methodology to support the design and formal development of reliable software. This volume gives the proceedings of the Eighth Workshop on Specification of Abstract Data Types, held jointly with the Third COMPASS workshop near Paris in August 1991. The main topics covered by the joint workshop are: - specification languagesand program development - algebraic specification of concurrency - theorem proving - object-oriented specifications - order-sorted algebras - abstract implementation and behavioral semantics. The volume contains four invited surveys and twelve contributed papers, all of which underwent a careful refereeing process.

This book contains a strictly refereed selection of revised full papers chosen from the papers accepted for presentation during the 11th Workshop on Abstract Data Types held jointly with the 8th COMPASS Workshop in Oslo, Norway, in September 1995. The 25 research papers included were chosen from 57 pre-selected workshop presentations; also included are six invited contributions. The volume reports the progress achieved in the area of algebraic specification since the predecessor meeting held in May 1994.

The algebraic specification of abstract data types is now a well establishedresearch topic in computer science. This area influences both applications and theoretical foundations of methodologies which support the design and formal development of reliable software. The Seventh Workshop on Specification of Abstract Data Types took place in Wusterhausen/Dosse, April17-20, 1990, and was organized in cooperation with the ESPRIT Basic Research Working Group COMPASS. The main topics covered by the workshop were: - Modularization - Object orientation - Higher-order types anddependent types - Inductive completion - Algebraic high-level nets.

The Fifth Workshop on Specification of Abstract Data Types took place 1-4 September 1987 in Gullane, near Edinburgh. This book contains papers based on selected talks presented at the workshop. The algebraic specification of abstract data types has been a flourishing topic in computer science since 1974. The main goal of work in this area is to evolve a methodology to support the design and formal development of reliable software. The particular approach taken builds upon concepts from universal algebra and elementary category theory. The core of this work has now stabilized to a great extent and is mature enough to find application in real-life software engineering and to related topics such as concurrency, databases, and even hardware design. Such applications are becoming more feasible because of the emergence of integrated specification/development environments which include tools such as theorem provers based on fast term rewriting engines. Researchers are also exploring ways of widening the scope of the theory to make it applicable to (for example) higher-order functions and non-deterministic programs. Another trend is toward taking a more general view which allows superficially different approaches having the same general aims and methods to be unified.

The European conference situationin the general area of software science has longbeen considered unsatisfactory. A fairlylarge number of small and medi- sized conferences and workshops take place on an irregular basis, competing for high-quality contributions and for enough attendees to make them ?nancially viable. Discussions aiming at a consolidation have been underway since at least 1992, with concrete planning beginning in summer 1994 and culminating in a public meeting at TAPSOFT’95 in Aarhus. On the basis of a broad consensus, it was decided to establish a single annual federated spring conference in the slot that was then occupied by TAPSOFT and CAAP/ESOP/CC, comprising a number of existing and new conferences and covering a spectrum from theory to practice. ETAPS’98, the ?rst instance of the European Joint Conferences on Theory and Practice of Software, is taking place this year in Lisbon. It comprises ?ve conferences (FoSSaCS, FASE, ESOP, CC, TACAS), four workshops (ACoS, VISUAL, WADT, CMCS), seven invited lectures, and nine tutorials.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-workshop proceedings of the 14th International Workshop on Algebraic Development Techniques, WADT'99, held in Toulouse, France in September 1999. The 23 revised full papers presented together with three invited papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 69 workshop presentations. The papers address the following topics: algebraic specification and other specification formalisms, test and validation, concurrent processes applications, logic and validation, combining formalisms, subsorts and partiality, structuring, rewriting, co-algebras and sketches, refinement, institutions and categories, and ASM specifications.