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Journal on Data Semantics VII pp 33–56Cite as

Specifying the Semantics of Operation Contracts in Conceptual Modeling

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Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((JODS,volume 4244))

Abstract

This paper describes two different ways of understanding operation contracts in conceptual modeling: the strict and extended interpretations. The main difference between them lies in the way operation postconditions and integrity constraints are guaranteed, which has an impact on the desirable properties of operation contracts according to recommended good practice for requirements specification. Both interpretations are formalized and compared in terms of these properties. We find that the strict interpretation provides several advantages over the extended one. This conclusion is supported by evidence from a case study. The results of the case study also indicate that the strict interpretation significantly facilitates the specification task.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. de Llenguatges i Sistemes Informàtics, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, c/ Jordi Girona 1-3, 08034, Barcelona Catalonia, Spain

    Anna Queralt & Ernest Teniente

Authors
  1. Anna Queralt
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  2. Ernest Teniente
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. EPFL-IC-IIF-LBD, Station 14 - INJ 236, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Stefano Spaccapietra

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© 2006 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Queralt, A., Teniente, E. (2006). Specifying the Semantics of Operation Contracts in Conceptual Modeling. In: Spaccapietra, S. (eds) Journal on Data Semantics VII. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 4244. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/11890591_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/11890591_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-46329-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-46330-6

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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