Use of a lightweight formal method to model the static aspects of state machines

Abstract

In this paper the author uses Alloy as a modeling language to model the elements that form a state machine and the rules that govern how they can be connected. In particular, the model proposed in this paper focuses in the static aspects of state machines. To analyze and detect design errors in the model, the Alloy analyzer was used. With the use of this tool, design errors can be detected very quickly. This tool can also generate instances of the model without making a line of code. The paper presents two models based on the formal approach: a graphical model and a textual model. The graphical model is used as an overview of the system while the textual model is used to establish further constraints on the graphical model.

Towards Classification of Lightweight Formal Methods

“…One notable lightweight approach is Alloy", cf. Valles-Barajas (2009). This refers to partiality in analysis.…”