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Abstract State Machines and the Inquiry Process

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Part of the Lecture Notes in Computer Science book series (LNPSE,volume 6300)

Abstract

Abstract State Machines have long played a valuable role as a catalyst for inquiry into software problems. In the ASM literature, however, there is a tendency to omit reflection on the process of ASM-based design and analysis, focusing instead on final, complete ASM products. As educators, we believe it is important to expose our students to a full, explicit process of inquiry, using ASMs as a vehicle to motivate active questioning. We report on our experiences in bringing ASM-based inquiry to the classroom. A course plan that combines ASMs and Problem Frames has proved effective in eliciting critical inquiry among students.

Keywords

  • formal methods
  • software requirements
  • education
  • refinement
  • inquiry

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Huggins, J.K., Wallace, C. (2010). Abstract State Machines and the Inquiry Process. In: Blass, A., Dershowitz, N., Reisig, W. (eds) Fields of Logic and Computation. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 6300. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15025-8_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15025-8_19

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-15024-1

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