Abstract
This paper is an introductory overview of some key concepts that constitute a theoretical basis for the formal description of systems. Following a brief discussion of the criteria determining the usefulness of such concepts for system analysis and design, this overview addresses formal languages and automata, language semantics (with illustrations in trace theory and formal logic), abstract data types and functional formalisms. For what concerns the latter topic, special attention is given to the transformational style of reasoning and to the suitability for describing various kinds of systems. A more complete treatment of the functional approach and its applications is given in two companion papers.
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Boute, R.T. (1987). Elements for the formal description of systems. In: Kündig, A., Bührer, R.E., Dähler, J. (eds) Embedded Systems. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 284. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0016347
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0016347
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