Lectures 9,10.ppt

Lectures 9,10 Formal Specifications Formal Specification - Techniques for the unambiguous specification of software Objectives: To explain why formal specification techniques help discover problems in system requirements To describe the use of algebraic techniques (for interface specification) and model-based techniques(for behavioural specification) To introduce Abstract State Machine Model Formal methods Formal specification is part of a more general collection of techniques that are known as ‘formal methods’ COMP313 “Formal Methods” These are all based on mathematical representation and analysis of software Formal methods include Formal specification Specification analysis and proof Transformational development Program verification Acceptance of formal methods Formal methods have not become mainstream software development techniques as was once predicted Other software engineering techniques have been successful at increasing system quality. Hence the need for formal methods has been reduced Market changes have made time-to-market rather than software with a low error count the key factor. Formal methods do not reduce time to market The scope of formal methods is limited. They are not well-suited to specifying and analysing user interfaces and user interaction Formal methods are hard to scale up to large systems Use of formal methods Their principal benefits are in reducing the number of errors in systems so their main area of applicability is critical systems: Air traffic control information systems, Railway signalling systems Spacecraft systems Medical control systems In this area, the use of formal methods is most likely to be cost-effective Formal methods have limited practical applicability Specification in the software process Specification and design are inextricably mixed. Architectural design is essential to structure a specification. Formal specifications are expressed in a mathematical notation with precisely defined vocabulary, syntax