Formal Methods: the Background

Abstract

Contemporary formal methods either consist of, or incorporate, a formal description technique (FDT) which is a technique for the production of precise specifications. An FDT is based upon a symbolic notation (its metalanguage,otherwise known as a formal specification language (FSL)) which uses rigorous and unambiguous rules both with respect to developing expressions in the language (its syntax) and interpreting the meaning of these expressions (its semantics). A natural language description, on the other hand, is an example of an informal description technique. It is made imprecise through the presence of ambiguities and idioms.