Concise Guide to Formal Methods

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxvi

   PDF

2. Software Engineering

   • Gerard O’Regan

   Pages 1-25

3. Software Reliability and Dependability

   • Gerard O’Regan

   Pages 27-40

4. Overview of Formal Methods

   • Gerard O’Regan

   Pages 41-63

5. Sets, Relations and Functions

   • Gerard O’Regan

   Pages 65-92

6. A Short History of Logic

   • Gerard O’Regan

   Pages 93-108

7. Propositional and Predicate Logic

   • Gerard O’Regan

   Pages 109-135

8. Advanced Topics in Logic

   • Gerard O’Regan

   Pages 137-154

9. Z Formal Specification Language

   • Gerard O’Regan

   Pages 155-171

10. Vienna Development Method

    • Gerard O’Regan

    Pages 173-186

11. Irish School of VDM

    • Gerard O’Regan

    Pages 187-204

12. Unified Modelling Language

    • Gerard O’Regan

    Pages 205-218

13. Dijkstra, Hoare and Parnas

    • Gerard O’Regan

    Pages 219-241

14. Automata Theory

    • Gerard O’Regan

    Pages 243-252

15. Model Checking

    • Gerard O’Regan

    Pages 253-262

16. The Nature of Theorem Proving

    • Gerard O’Regan

    Pages 263-271

17. Probability and Statistics

    • Gerard O’Regan

    Pages 273-289

18. Industrial Tools for Formal Methods

    • Gerard O’Regan

    Pages 291-299

19. Technology Transfer to Industry

    • Gerard O’Regan

    Pages 301-309

20. Epilogue

    • Gerard O’Regan

    Pages 311-314

This invaluable textbook/reference provides an easy-to-read guide to the fundamentals of formal methods, highlighting the rich applications of formal methods across a diverse range of areas of computing.

Topics and features: introduces the key concepts in software engineering, software reliability and dependability, formal methods, and discrete mathematics; presents a short history of logic, from Aristotle’s syllogistic logic and the logic of the Stoics, through Boole’s symbolic logic, to Frege’s work on predicate logic; covers propositional and predicate logic, as well as more advanced topics such as fuzzy logic, temporal logic, intuitionistic logic, undefined values, and the applications of logic to AI; examines the Z specification language, the Vienna Development Method (VDM) and Irish School of VDM, and the unified modelling language (UML); discusses Dijkstra’s calculus of weakest preconditions, Hoare’s axiomatic semantics of programming languages, and the classical approachof Parnas and his tabular expressions; provides coverage of automata theory, probability and statistics, model checking, and the nature of proof and theorem proving; reviews a selection of tools available to support the formal methodist, and considers the transfer of formal methods to industry; includes review questions and highlights key topics in every chapter, and supplies a helpful glossary at the end of the book.

This stimulating guide provides a broad and accessible overview of formal methods for students of computer science and mathematics curious as to how formal methods are applied to the field of computing.

• Formal methods
• Software verification
• Automata theory
• Computational logic
• Requirements analysis
• Software reliability
• Specification
• Model checking
• Theorem proving
• Technology transfer

• SQC Consulting, Mallow, County Cork, Ireland

  Gerard O'Regan

Dr. Gerard O'Regan is a CMMI software process improvement consultant with research interests including software quality and software process improvement, mathematical approaches to software quality, and the history of computing. He is the author of such Springer titles as Concise Guide to Software Engineering, Guide to Discrete Mathematics, Introduction to the History of Computing, Pillars of Computing, Introduction to Software Quality, Giants of Computing, and Mathematics in Computing.

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