Software Specification Methods

This title provides a clear overview of the main methods, and has a practical focus that allows the reader to apply their knowledge to real-life situations. The following are just some of the techniques covered: UML, Z, TLA+, SAZ, B, OMT, VHDL, Estelle, SDL and LOTOS.

This book provides an introduction to program specification, illustrating the advantages it confers upon the software development process. Covering all three major specification languages (Larch, VDM, and Z), the book discusses specification in general, the abstraction process, the mathematical tools required, and the main formal methods.

Software Specification Methods provides the formal methods practitioner with a survey of the key software specification methods. Each technique is demonstrated using the same case study, an invoicing system, to enable the reader to compare and contrast easily. Among the techniques covered are: UML; Z; SAZ; B; JSD; OMT; VHDL; Estelle; SDL; LOTOS. This book is intended for industrial and commercial practitioners who need to expand their knowledge of software specification methods. This book provides a basic overview of the main methods, with a practical focus which allows readers to apply their knowledge to real-life situations.

Based on material used by the authors in their teaching, this volume provides a detailed comparison and study of the various methods for reasoning about software. The material offers a comprehensive understanding of which program structures are easier to manipulate by formal techniques, thus allowing professionals to write programs that are easier to reason about informally. The basic technology presented should be of use in all programming environments.

This extensively revised and updated new edition of Specification of Software Systems builds upon the original focus on software specification with added emphasis on the practice of formal methods for specification and verification activities for different types of software systems and at different stages of developing software systems. Topics and features: provides a wide coverage of formal specification techniques and a clear writing style, supported by end-of-chapter bibliographic notes for further reading; presents a logical structure, with sections devoted to specification fundamentals, basics of formalism, logic, set theory and relations, property-oriented specification methods, and model-based specification techniques; contains end-of-chapter exercises and numerous case studies, with potential course outlines suggested in the Preface; covers Object-Z, B-Method, and Calculus of Communicating Systems; offers material that can be taught with tool-supported laboratory projects.

This book constitutes the documentation of the scientific outcome of the priority program Integration of Software Specification Techniques for Applications in Engineering sponsored by the German Research Foundation (DFG). It includes main contributions of the projects of the priority program and of additional international experts in the field. Some of the papers included were presented at the related Third International Workshop on the topic, INT 2004, held in Barcelona, Spain in March 2004. The 25 revised full papers presented together with 6 section introductions by the volume editors were carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in the book. The papers are organized in topical sections on reference case study production automation, reference case study traffic control systems, petri nets and related approaches in engineering, charts, verification, and integration modeling.

The intention of this book is to show how algebraic specification methods can be used for software development to support reliability, modifiability and reusability. These methods are introduced by parameterized and module specifications through practical examples and case studies using algebraic specification languages and tools developed at TU Berlin.