We describe how CSP-OZ, an integrated formal method combining the process algebra CSP with the specification language Object-Z, can be linked to standard software engineering languages, viz. UML and Java. Our aim is to generate a significant part of the CSP-OZ specification from an initially developed UML model using a UML profile for CSP-OZ, and afterwards transform the formal specification in...

This article provides a formalization of the W3C Draft Core SHACL Semantics specification using Z notation. This formalization exercise has identified a number of quality issues in the draft. It has also established that the recursive definitions in the draft are well-founded. Further formal validation of the draft will require the use of an executable specification technology.

Formal Methods refer to a variety of mathematical modeling techniques, which are used both to model the behaviour of a computer system and to verify that the system satisfy design, safety and functional properties. The incorporation of a Formal Methods course in the undergraduate Computer Science curriculum is strongly suggested by scientific societies such as ACM, IEEE and BCS. In this paper, ...

We present a method to specify software for a special kind of safetycritical embedded systems, where sensors deliver low-level values that must be abstracted and pre-processed to express functional and safety requirements adequately. These systems are characterized by a reference architecture. The method is expressed as an agenda, which is a list of activities to be performed for setting up the...

This paper presents a formalisation of the steamboiler problem using Circus, a unified theory of the formal specification languages Z and CSP. The aim of Circus is to provide powerful support for the specification of the data-oriented and behavioural aspects of concurrent systems, and to provide a calculational development technique for languages similar to occam, Java, and Handel-C.

Real-Time Logic is a formal notation for reasoning about temporal behaviour. Z is a general purpose specification language, but lacks explicit features for expressing real-time constraints. We show how these complementary methods can be formally unified. An approach to verification of real-time properties by deriving temporal information directly from the specification is then described.

The aspect-oriented software development (AOSD) paradigm permits modularizing crosscutting concerns of base modules, a non-usual task in other software development paradigms. Since AOSD was born in the programming stage as an extension of an object-oriented (OO) programming language, and AOSD considers, in addition to base modules, new modules named aspects, then a complete AOSD process require...

A significant limitation with object-oriented formal specification languages, such as Object-Z, is that they lack development and management processes, which can be used to guide the production of reliable, robust object-oriented systems. An integration of an object-oriented methodology, BON, and Object-Z is presented in order to add an industrially validated development process to Object-Z. An...

Use Cases are a wide-spread informal method for specifying the requirements of a technical system in the early development phase. Z is a formal notation which aims to support, beside others, the specification of early requirements. In this paper, we develop a representation of Use Cases in Z and apply it to several examples. Our focus is on instrumenting the formalization for black-box test eva...

This paper demonstrates that existing slice-based measures can reasonably be mapped to the field of state-based specification languages. By making use of Z specifications this contribution renews the idea of slice-profiles and derives coupling and cohesion measures for them. The measures are then assessed by taking a critical look at their sensitiveness in respect to modifications on the specif...