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A Software Tool to Support Scenario-Based Formal Specification for Error Prevention

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Structured Object-Oriented Formal Language and Method (SOFL+MSVL 2017)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNTCS,volume 10795))

Abstract

Formal specification can be an error-prone process for complex systems and how to efficiently write correct specifications is still a challenge for practitioners in industry. This paper presents a software tool to support the scenario-based formal specification approach developed in the SOFL formal engineering method. Using the tool, the current version of the formal specification under construction can be automatically checked to ensure the internal consistency and some further contents of the specification may be automatically predicated to facilitate the user in completing the specification. To improve the readability of the formal specification, the tool can also automatically translate the textual format of the specification into a comprehensible tabular format. All of these three functions can be helpful to prevent errors during the construction of the specification. We discuss each of the functions by first presenting its principle and then illustrating it with examples. We present a case study to show how the tool supports the scenario-based specification approach. Finally, we conclude the paper and suggest topics for future research.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 26240008

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Correspondence to Siyuan Li or Shaoying Liu .

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Li, S., Liu, S. (2018). A Software Tool to Support Scenario-Based Formal Specification for Error Prevention. In: Tian, C., Nagoya, F., Liu, S., Duan, Z. (eds) Structured Object-Oriented Formal Language and Method. SOFL+MSVL 2017. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 10795. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90104-6_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90104-6_12

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-90103-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-90104-6

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