Formal methods

About: Formal methods is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 14941 publications have been published within this topic receiving 262193 citations.

The model checker SPIN

Abstract: SPIN is an efficient verification system for models of distributed software systems. It has been used to detect design errors in applications ranging from high-level descriptions of distributed algorithms to detailed code for controlling telephone exchanges. The paper gives an overview of the design and structure of the verifier, reviews its theoretical foundation, and gives an overview of significant practical applications.

Symbolic Model Checking

Abstract: Symbolic model checking is a powerful formal specification and verification method that has been applied successfully in several industrial designs. Using symbolic model checking techniques it is possible to verify industrial-size finite state systems. State spaces with up to 1030 states can be exhaustively searched in minutes. Models with more than 10120 states have been verified using special techniques.

The B-Book: Assigning Programs to Meanings

Abstract: The B Method is a means for specifying, designing and coding software systems. The long-awaited B-Book is the standard reference for everything concerning this method. It contains the mathematical basis on which it is founded, the precise definitions of the notations used, and a large number of examples illustrating its use in practice. J.-R. Abrial, the inventor of B, has written the book in such a way that it can be used for self-study or for reference. It is in four parts, the first dealing with the mathematical foundations and the definition of the various mathematical structures that are needed to formalise software systems; special emphasis is placed on the notion of proof. The second part contains a presentation of the Generalised Substitution Language and of the Abstract Machine Notation; examples are given to show how large specifications can be constructed systematically. The next part introduces the two basic programming features of sequencing and loop. The last part covers the very important notion of refinement. It shows how to construct large software systems by means of layered architectures of modules. With the appearance of The B-Book, formal methods practitioners, computer scientists, and systems developers at last will have access to the definitive account of what will become one of the standard approaches to the construction of software systems.

A Tutorial on UPPAAL

Abstract: This is a tutorial paper on the tool Uppaal. Its goal is to be a short introduction on the flavor of timed automata implemented in the tool, to present its interface, and to explain how to use the tool. The contribution of the paper is to provide reference examples and modeling patterns.

Software Abstractions: Logic, Language, and Analysis

Abstract: In Software Abstractions Daniel Jackson introduces an approach to software design that draws on traditional formal methods but exploits automated tools to find flaws as early as possible. This approach--which Jackson calls "lightweight formal methods" or "agile modeling"--takes from formal specification the idea of a precise and expressive notation based on a tiny core of simple and robust concepts but replaces conventional analysis based on theorem proving with a fully automated analysis that gives designers immediate feedback. Jackson has developed Alloy, a language that captures the essence of software abstractions simply and succinctly, using a minimal toolkit of mathematical notions. This revised edition updates the text, examples, and appendixes to be fully compatible with the latest version of Alloy (Alloy 4). The designer can use automated analysis not only to correct errors but also to make models that are more precise and elegant. This approach, Jackson says, can rescue designers from "the tarpit of implementation technologies" and return them to thinking deeply about underlying concepts. Software Abstractions introduces the key elements: a logic, which provides the building blocks of the language; a language, which adds a small amount of syntax to the logic for structuring descriptions; and an analysis, a form of constraint solving that offers both simulation (generating sample states and executions) and checking (finding counterexamples to claimed properties).