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Challenges in the utilization of formal methods

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Formal Techniques in Real-Time and Fault-Tolerant Systems (FTRTFT 1998)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 1486))

Abstract

Despite the established benefits of formal methods, they remain poorly accepted by industrial software developers. This paper examines the issues surrounding the use of formal methods in industrial software development. It is argued that the reason for their limited use is that the introduction of formalism into software development is a more complex undertaking than it appears to be. This idea is explored in three areas: the software lifecycle; software dependability analysis; and development tools and environments. It is shown that many capabilities must be present in order for formal methods to fit into the complete software lifecycle, that the results of formal methods are difficult to use in software dependability analysis, and that the development of tools to support formal methods comprehensively is a difficult undertaking.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, University of Virginia, 22903, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    John C. Knight

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  1. John C. Knight
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Anders P. Ravn Hans Rischel

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© 1998 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Knight, J.C. (1998). Challenges in the utilization of formal methods. In: Ravn, A.P., Rischel, H. (eds) Formal Techniques in Real-Time and Fault-Tolerant Systems. FTRTFT 1998. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1486. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0055331

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0055331

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-65003-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-49792-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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