Mathematical Structures for Software Engineering

This volume is concerned with the application of formal methods in software engineering. As the design, writing, and testing of software becomes a major sector of economic activity, so the need for rigorous techniques has also grown. The papers in the book are devoted to various mathematical structures which find use in aspects of software design and they cover topics such as the formal specification of systems, the design of communications software, and concurrent processing. All the contributors are experts in their respective fields. As a result, this collection will provide a timely survey of this rapidly growing area. Software engineers and computer scientists should find this presents an invaluable source of reference. Mathematicians will appreciate the discussions of the contribution that mathematics can make in this discipline and in particular find mathematically interesting challenges for the future.Table of ContentThe roles of mathematics in software engineering, T.Denvir; verification and transformation of simple recursive programs - an algebraic approach, C.T.P.Burton; the need for standards in computing mathematics, H.L.Porteous; some proposals towards a theory of notation in software engineering, W.Godwin; a random walk through software reliability theory, P.G.Bishop and F.D.Pullen; mathematical modelling of software testing, T.Downs; draft MOD policy for safety critical software - an overview, K.Geary; intyroducing formal methods - the CICS experience with Z, B.P.Collins, J.E.Nicholls and I.H.Sorensen; why execute formal specifications, A.M.Gravell and P.Henderson; an evolutionary software model, C.Rattray; software engineering practices and numerical mathematical software, G.Markham; using discrete mathematics to formalize the software testing process, P.Dunne, M.Roper and P.Smith; programming as constructive mathematics, S.Reeves; conceptual modelling of software diversity, B.Littlewood and D.Miller; formal development of communication software - a research project, H.Haughton; an evaluation of functional programming for the commercial environment, P.Sanders; software engineering and the maintenance of a large old program - a case history, A.J.S.Mann; modal action logic for the specification and validation of safety, W.D.Atkinson, et al; formal specification and verification of synchronized resources using an extended path notation, C.C.Tam.