Abstract specification theory: An overview

This paper presents an overview of abstract specification theory, as understood and viewed by the author. We start with a brief outline of the basic assumptions underlying work in this area in the tradition of algebraic specification and with a sketch of the algebraic and categorical foundations for this work. Then, we discuss the issues of specification construction and of systematic development of software from formal requirements specification. Special attention is paid to architectural design: formal description of the modular structure of the system under development, as captured by architectural specifications in CASL. In particular, we present a simplified but representative formalism of architectural specifications with complete semantics and verification rules. We conclude by adapting the ideas, concepts and results presented to the observational view of software systems and their specification.