Formalising the semantics of Ward/Mellor SA/RT essential models using a process algebra

Fencott, P. C.; Galloway, Andy; Lockyer, Mike; O'Brien, S. J.; Pearson, Sarah

doi:10.1007/3-540-58555-9_122

Cited by 20 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Approaches for mapping various notations to Petri nets have been proposed by many authors: [38][39][40][41][42]. Rule based mappings have been proposed by Paige [43] and Baresi et al [44].…”

Section: Further Readingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Petri Nets and Software Engineering

Denaro¹,

Pezzè²

2004

Lectures on Concurrency and Petri Nets

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Abstract. Software engineering and Petri net theory are disciplines of different nature. Research on software engineering focuses on a problem domain, i.e., the development of complex software systems, and tries to find a coherent set of solutions to cope with the different aspects of the problem, while research on Petri nets investigates applications and properties of a specific model (Petri nets).

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Section: Further Readingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Petri Nets and Software Engineering

Denaro¹,

Pezzè²

2004

Lectures on Concurrency and Petri Nets

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“…Several interpretations are also proposed for SA-RT. For example, the extension by Ward-Mellor (SA-WM) is formalized by France [1992], Fencott et al [1994], and Petersohn et al [1994]; the extension by Hatley-Pirbhai (SA-HP) is studied by France and Wu [1995]; ESML is analyzed by Shi and Nixon [1996] and Richter and Maffeo [1993].…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A lot of preliminary work focuses on Structured Analysis [France 1992;Liu et al 1998;Fencott et al 1994], most recent work concentrates on UML [Evans and Kent 1999;Engels et al 2001;Evans et al 1998], less attention has been paid to other domain-specific notations like SDL [Fischer et al 1995] and IEC 61131-3 [Baresi et al 2000]. These proposals provide fixed dynamic semantics to the addressed notations, but fail in addressing extensibility and flexibility.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Formal interpreters for diagram notations

Baresi

Pezzè

2005

ACM Trans. Softw. Eng. Methodol.

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The article proposes an approach for defining extensible and flexible formal interpreters for diagram notations with significant dynamic semantics. More precisely, it addresses semi-formal diagram notations that have precisely-defined syntax, but informally defined (dynamic) semantics. These notations are often flexible to fit the different needs and expectations of users. Flexibility comes from the incompleteness or informality of the original definition and results in different interpretations.The approach defines interpreters by means of a mapping onto a semantic domain. Two sets of rules define the correspondences between the elements of the diagram notation and those of the semantic domain, and between events and states of the semantic domain and visual annotations on the elements of the diagram notation. Flexibility also leads to notation families, that is, sets of notations that share core concepts, but present slightly different interpretations. Existing approaches usually interpret these notations in isolation; the approach presented in this article allows the interpretation of a family as a whole. The feasibility of the approach is demonstrated through a prototype generator that allows users to implement special-purpose interpreters by defining relatively small sets of rules.

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“…Formal semantics for Ward's transformation schemas is proposed in Fraser and Vaishnavi [1991], Miranda [1989], Fencott et al [1994], Elmstrøm et al [1993], Tuya et al [1995], and Petersohn et al [1994]. Ward's transformation schemas are translated into VDM in Fraser and Vaishnavi [1991] and into process algebras in Fencott et al [1994]. In Miranda [1989], Elmstrøm et al [1993], and Tuya et al [1995] transformation schemas are translated into different kinds of Petri nets.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Translation rules from SA to algebraic state transition systems are supplied in France [1992]. Formal semantics for Ward's transformation schemas is proposed in Fraser and Vaishnavi [1991], Miranda [1989], Fencott et al [1994], Elmstrøm et al [1993], Tuya et al [1995], and Petersohn et al [1994]. Ward's transformation schemas are translated into VDM in Fraser and Vaishnavi [1991] and into process algebras in Fencott et al [1994].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward formalizing structured analysis

Baresi

Pezzè

1998

ACM Trans. Softw. Eng. Methodol.

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Real-time extensions to structured analysis (SA/RT) are popular in industrial practice. Despite the large industrial experience and the attempts to formalize the various "dialects," SA/RT notations are still imprecise and ambiguous. This article tries to identify the semantic problems of the requirements definition notation defined by Hatley and Pirbhai, one of the popular SA/RT "dialects," and discusses possible solutions. As opposed to other articles that give their own interpretation, this article does not propose a specific semantics for the notation. This article identifies imprecisions, i.e., missing or partial information about features of the notation; it discusses ambiguities, i.e., elements of the definition that allow at least two different ("reasonable") interpretations of features of the notation; and it lists extensions, i.e., features not belonging to the notation, but required by many industrial users and often supported by CASE tools. This article contributes by clarifying whether specific interpretations can be given unique semantics or retain ambiguities of the original definition. The article allows for the evaluation of formal definitions by indicating alternatives and consequences of the specific choices.

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Formalising the semantics of Ward/Mellor SA/RT essential models using a process algebra

Cited by 20 publications

References 6 publications

Petri Nets and Software Engineering

Petri Nets and Software Engineering

Formal interpreters for diagram notations

Toward formalizing structured analysis

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