One of the important issues in supporting specification-based software architectures is how to verify that formal specifications of a software system satisfy liveness, safety and timing constraints, and are consistent and complete with regard to user requirements. Animation has been proposed as one of the techniques for achieving this goal. This article presents a practical approach and a tool ...

Object-Z is an extension of the formal specification language Z, augmenting the class concept as a structuring facility. This paper introduces and discusses a structural mapping sys tem f r o m Object-Z to the programming language C++, and reports on its implementat ion o n UNIX. The structural mapping translates an Object-Z specification consisting of classes into class interfaces of C++ such ...

The use of specification as an integral part of design and implementation is accepted as part of most design methodologies. However, specification techniques differ in the degree of formalism they offer. For example, VDM [7] and Z [8] are both mathematically based formal specification languages, but IDEF1X [3, 10] is a semi-formal graphical method. The goal of using specification may also diffe...

A fuzzy logic toolkit has been developed for the formal specification language Z. It permits the incorporation of fuzzy concepts into the language while retaining the precision of any Z specification. The toolkit provides the necessary operators, measures and modifiers for the definition and manipulation of fuzzy sets and relations. This paper illustrates how the toolkit can be used to specify ...

This paper describes a systematic way of constructing correct prototypes in a functional language such as Miranda from Z specifications. A formal relationship between Z specifications and functional prototypes is established. This relationship is based on model refinement in the sense of specification refinement in the model-oriented specification style. To reduce the number of proofs required ...

NumConSol is an interval-based numerical constraint and optimization solver to find a global optimum of a function. It is written in Python. In this document, we specify the NumConSol solver in Z, a formal specification language based on sets and predicates. The aim is to provide a solid foundation for restructuring and refactoring the current implementation of the NumConSol solver as well as f...

Whilst formal methods can make valuable contributions to system specification, structured methodologies are seen as more appropriate for commercial systems development, particularly user involvement. This paper investigates the applicability of Z to MERISE, the French structured methodology, recommending the adoption of a formal link between the two, an integration procedure proposed by Semmens...

This paper describes a systematic way of constructing correct prototypes in a functional language such as Miranda or Haskell from Z specifications. A formal relationship between Z specifications and functional prototypes is established. This relationship is based on model refinement in the sense of specification refinement in the model-oriented specification style. To reduce the number of proof...

This paper discusses methods for the formal treatment of critical systems. The discussion is based on experience at ICL in the application of formal methods to the development of highly assured secure systems. Problems arising in the use of the standard paradigm for specification and refinement in Z are identified and discussed. Alternative methods which overcome some of these difficulties are ...

This paper describes the formal specification of object types for managing inter-media synchronisation and control within PREMO, an emerging ISO/IEC standard for multimedia systems. Object-Z, an object-oriented extension to the Z specification language, is used for this purpose. Some aspects of PREMO are non-trivial to express in Object-Z, and the paper outlines the reasons for choosing this sp...