Skip to main content
Log in

Incremental requirements specification withLotos

  • Published:
Requirements Engineering Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The importance of formally and incrementally specifying requirements is discussed. An approach based on LOTOS (Language Of Temporal Ordering Specification) is proposed that exploits desirable characteristics of the constraint-oriented style. The nature of constraint-oriented specification is discussed at some length, and guidelines for how to use it effectively with LOTOS are presented. Small introductory examples lead to the incremental specification of a file access system using the approach in the paper. It is shown how the requirements for the file access system can be gradually formalised, leading to a complete system specification.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Barry W Boehm. Verifying and validating software requirements and design specification. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, 1(1): 75–88, January 1984.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Barry W Boehm. Software engineering. IEEE Transactions on Computers, C-25(12): 1226–1241, December 1976

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Michael E Fagan. Design and code inspections to reduce errors in programs. IBM Systems Journal, 15(3): 7/1–7/26, August 1979.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Jonathan Bowen, Victoria Stavridou. The industrial take-up of formal methods in safety-critical and other areas: A perspective. In Proc. Formal Methods Europe '93. LNCS 670, pages 183–195, May 1993

  5. BP Collins, John E Nicholls, Ib H Sorensen. Introducing formal methods: The CICS experience with Z. In Neumann, Simpson, and Slater editors, Mathematical Structures for Software Engineering, pages 153–164. IBM UK Laboratories, Winchester, 1991

    Google Scholar 

  6. Ministry of Defence. The procurement of safety-critical software in defence equipment—Part 1: Requirements. Technical Report Defence Standard 00-55/Issue 1, Ministry of Defence, Glasgow, UK, April 1991

    Google Scholar 

  7. Ministry of Defence. The procurement of safety-critical software in defence equipment—Part 2: Guidance. Technical Report Defence Standard 00-55/Issue 1, Ministry of Defence, Glasgow, UK, April 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  8. ISO/IEC, Information Processing Systems—Open Systems Interconnection—Lotos—A Formal Description Technique based on the Temporal Ordering of Observational Behaviour. ISO/IEC 8807. International Organization for Standardization. Geneva, Switzerland, 1989.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Howard Bowman, Gordon S Blair, Lynne Blair, Amanda G Chetwynd. Time versus abstraction in formal description. In Richard L Tenney, Paul D Amer, and M Ümit Uyar, editors, Proc. Formal Description Techniques VI, pages 467–482. North-Holland, Amsterdam, Netherland, 1994

    Google Scholar 

  10. Kees Bogaards.Lotos supported system development. In Kenneth J Turner, editor, Proc. Formal Description Techniques I, pages 279–294. North-Holland, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1989

    Google Scholar 

  11. AJ Robin G Milner. Communication and Concurrency. Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts, USA, 1989

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  12. C Anthony R Hoare. Communicating Sequential Processes. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA, 1985

    Google Scholar 

  13. Harmut Ehrig, B Mahr. Fundamentals of Algebraic Specification 1, volume 6 of EATCS Monographs on Theoretical Computer Science. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Germany, 1985

    Google Scholar 

  14. Tommaso Bolognesi, Ed Brinksma. Introduction to the ISO specification languageLotos. Computer Networks and ISDN Systems, 14(1), January 1988

  15. Kenneth J Turner, editor. Using Formal Description Techniques—An Introduction toEstelle, Lotos and SDL. Wiley, New York, January 1993

    Google Scholar 

  16. Chris A Vissers, Giuseppe Scollo, Marten van Sinderen. Architecture and specification style in formal descriptions of distributed systems. Theoretical Computer Science, 89: 179–206, 1991

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  17. GP Mullery. CORE—A Method for Controlled Requirements Specification. Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Press, New York, USA, 1979

    Google Scholar 

  18. DT Ross. Applications and extensions of SADT. Computer, 18(4):25–34, 1985

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. I Jacobson. Object-Oriented Software Engineering—A Use Case Driven Approach. Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts, USA, 1992

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  20. K Benner, M Feather, WL Johnson, L Zorman. Utilizing scenarios in the software development process. In Proc. Working Conference on Information Systems Development Process, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1993. North-Holland

  21. C Potts, K Takahashi. An Active Hypertext Model for System Requirements. Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Press, New York, USA, 1993

    Google Scholar 

  22. Julio Cesar Sampaio do Prado Leite, Peter A Freeman. Requirements validation through viewpoint resolution. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, 17(12): 1253–1269, December 1991

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Anthony Finkelstein, J Kramer, JK Goedicke. Viewpoint-Oriented Software Development. Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Press. New York, USA, December 1990

    Google Scholar 

  24. Gerald Kotonya, Ian Sommerville. Viewpoints for requirements definition. Software Engineering Journal, 7(6): 175–187, November 1992

    Google Scholar 

  25. Jean-Raymond Abrial. The B-Book: Assigning Programs to Meanings. Cambridge University Press, UK, 1996

    Google Scholar 

  26. C George, P Haff, K Havelund, AE Haxthausen, R Milne, CB Nielsen, S Prehn, KR Wagner. The RAISE Specification Language. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA, 1992

    Google Scholar 

  27. CB Jones. Systematic Software Development Using VDM. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, second edition, USA, 1990

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  28. J Michael Spivey. The Z Notation: A Reference Manual. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA, second edition, 1992

    Google Scholar 

  29. Nico Plat, Jan van Katwijk, Hans Toetenel. Application and benefits of formal methods in software development. Software Engineering Journal, 7(5): 335–347, September 1992

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Richard A Kemmerer. Integrating formal methods in the development process. IEEE Software, 7(5): 37–50, September 1990

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. V. Kelly, U Nonnenmann. Reducing the Complexity of Formal Specification Acquisition. pages 41–64. MIT Press, Boston, USA, 1991

    Google Scholar 

  32. Stéphane Somé, Rachida Dssouli, Jean Vaucher. Towards an automation of requirement engineering using scenarios. Journal of Computing and Information, 2(1): 1070–1092, 1996

    Google Scholar 

  33. Alexandre ML de Vasconcelos, John A McDermid. A Technique for analyzing the Effects of Changes in Formal Specifications, pages 65–80. North-Holland. Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1993

    Google Scholar 

  34. DR Kuhn. A technique for analyzing the effects of changes in formal specification. The Computing Journal. 35: 574–578, December 1992

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Robert G Clark, Ana MD Moreira. Constructing formal specifications from informal requirements. In Proc. Software Technology and Engineering Practice 97, London, UK, July 1997. Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Press

  36. Kenneth J Turner, Ashley McClenaghan, Colin Chan. Specification and animation of reactive systems. In Volkan Atalay, Uĝur Halici, Kemal Inan, Neşe Yalabik, Adnan Yazici, editors. Proc. International Symposium on Computer and Information Systems XI pages 355–364. Middle-East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey, November 1996. ISBN 975-429-103-9

    Google Scholar 

  37. Adam C Winstanley, David W Bustard. EXPOSE: An animation tool for process-oriented specifications. Software Engineering Journal, 6(6): 114–118, November 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  38. David W Bustard, Adam C Winstanley. Making changes to formal specifications: Requirements and an example. IEEE Transactions on software Engineering, 20(8): 562–568, August 1994

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Jin Sa and Brian C Warboys. Specifying concurrent object-based systems using combined specification notations. Technical Report UMCS 91-7-2, Department of Computer Science, University of Manchester Manchester, UK, July 1991

    Google Scholar 

  40. ISO/IEC. Open Distributed Processing—Basic Reference Model—Part 1: Overview and Guide to the Use of the Reference Model. ISO/IEC 10746-1. International Organization for Standardization. Geneva, Switzerland, 1995

    Google Scholar 

  41. ISO/IEC. Open Distributed Processing—Basic Reference Model—Part 2: Foundations. ISO/IEC 10746-2. International Organization for Standardization. Geneva, Switzerland, 1995

    Google Scholar 

  42. ISO/IEC. Open Distributed Processing—Basic Reference Model—Part 3: Architecture. ISO/IEC 10746-3. International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland, 1995

    Google Scholar 

  43. Henry E Dudeney. A Puzzle Mine. Thomas Nelson, London, 1959

    Google Scholar 

  44. Kenneth J Turner. ALotos-based development strategy In ST Vuong, editor, Proc. Formal Description Techniques II, Pages 157–174. North-Holland, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1990

    Google Scholar 

  45. Kenneth J Turner. An engineering approach to formal methods. In André AS Danthine, Guy Leduc, Pierre Wolper, editors, Proc. Protocol Specification, Testing and Verification XIII, pages 357–380. North-Holland, Amsterdam, Netherlands, June 1993

    Google Scholar 

  46. Edward Yourdon. Modern Structured Analysis. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA, 1989

    Google Scholar 

  47. Richard O Sinnott, Kenneth J Turner. Applying the architectural semantics of ODP to develop a trader specification. Computer Networks and ISDN Systems. 29(4): 457–471, March 1997

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Kenneth J Turner. An architectural foundation for relating features. In Petre Dini, Raouf Boutaba, Luigi MS Logrippo editors. Proc. 4th Feature Interaction Workshop, pages 226–241. IOS Press, Amsterdam, Netherlands, June 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  49. Kenneth J Turner, Richard O Sinnott. DILL: Specifying digital logic inLotos. In Richard L Tenney, Paul D Amer, M Ümit Uyar, editors, Proc Formal Description Techniques VI, pages 71–86. North-Holland, Amsterdam Netherlands, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  50. J Rumbaugh, M Blaha, W Premerlani, F Eddy, W Lorensen. Object-Oriented Modelling and Design, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA, 1991

    Google Scholar 

  51. Richard O Sinnott, Kenneth J Turner. Modelling ODP viewpoints. In B Cameron, C Geldrez, A Hopley, D Howes, B Mirek, M Plucinska, editors. Proc OOPSLA '94 Workshop on Precise Behavioural Specifications in OO Information Modelling, papges 121–128, Portland, Oregon, USA, October 1994

  52. Ashley McClenaghan. SOLVE: Specification using an object-oriented,Lotos-based, visual language. Technical Report CSM-115, Department of Computing Science and Mathematics, University of Stirling, UK, January 1994

    Google Scholar 

  53. Ashley McClenaghan. XDILL: An X-based simulator tool for DILL. Technical Report CSM-119, Department of Computing Science and Mathematics, University of Stirling, UK, April 1994

    Google Scholar 

  54. Kenneth J Turner, Ashley McClenaghan. Visual animation ofLotos usingSolve. In Richard L Tenney, Paul D Amer, M Ümit Uyar, editors. Proc. Formal Description Techniques VI, pages 283–285. Chapman-Hall, London, UK, 1995

    Google Scholar 

  55. David W Harrison, Michael D Harrison. Animating process-oriented specifications: Experiences and lessons. In Proc. Automating Formal Methods for Computer-Assisted Prototyping, London, UK, January 1992. Institution of Electrical Engineers

  56. Tommaso Bolognesi, Jeroen van de Lagemaat, Chris A Vissers, editors. TheLotosphere Project. Kluwer Academic Publishers, London, UK, 1995

    Google Scholar 

  57. Jin Sa, Brian C Warboys. The EDS specification framework. Technical Report EDS WP.62.sa990, Department of Computer Science, University of Manchester, UK, September 1990

    Google Scholar 

  58. JA Keane, Jin Sa, Brian C Warboys. Applying a concurrent formal framework to process modelling. In Proc. Formal Methods Europe '94 volume 873 of Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pages 291–305. Springer-Verlag, Germany, 1994

    Google Scholar 

  59. ISO/IEC. Information Processing Systems—Open Systems Interconnection—Formal Description inLotos of the Connection-Oriented Session Service. ISO/ IEC TR 9571. International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland, 1990

    Google Scholar 

  60. ISO/IEC. Information Processing Systems—Open Systems Interconnection—Formal Description inLotos of the Connection-Oriented Transport Service. TR 10023. International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland, 1990

    Google Scholar 

  61. Kenneth J Turner. Constraint-oriented specification of a file access system. http://www.cs.stir.ac.uk/∼kjt/research/ well/fas.html, May 1997

  62. JC Fernández, Hubert Garavel, L Mounier, A Rasse, C Rodriguez. A toolbox for the verification ofLotos programs. In Proc. 14th International Conference on Software Engineering and its Applications, pages 246–259, May 1992

  63. Peter HJ van Eijk. TheLotosphere integrated tool environment LITE. In Kenneth R Parker, Gondon A Rose, editors, Proc. Formal Description Techniques IV, pages 471–474. North-Holland, Amsterdam, Netherlands, November 1991

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to K. J. Turner.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Turner, K.J. Incremental requirements specification withLotos . Requirements Eng 2, 132–151 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02802772

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02802772

Keywords

Navigation