The mathematical concepts and notational conventions we know of as Z were first proposed around 1981. Its origins were in line with the objectives of the PRG - to establish a mathematical basis for program ming concepts and to verify the work by case studies with industry. Hence among early Z users some were from academic circles, with interests in the mathematical basis of programming; others came from industry and were involved with pilot projects and case studies linked with the Programming Research Group. Four years ago we had the first Z User Meeting, a fairly modest affair with representatives more or less equally divided between academia and industry. At the first meeting there were, as in this meeting, a variety of technical papers, reports of work in progress and discussions. A number of people from industry came along, either because they had begun to use Z or were curious about the new direction. In the discussion sessions at the end of the meeting, there were calls from attendees for the establishment of a more stable base for the notation, including work on its documentation and standards. Many of these requests have now been satisfied and the notation is now being proposed for standards development.

Klappentext

Contains the latest developments in the theoretical and practical aspects of the computer programme Z. Topics include research on the formal notation of Z with descriptions of its application in industry, and Z tools and support environments.

Inhalt
Opening address: The State of Use of Formal Methods.- Type Inference in Z.- Minimisation in Formal Specification and Design.- From Programs to Z Specifications.- Computer Aided Transformation of Z into Prolog.- From Z Specifications to Functional Implementations.- A Generalisation of Bags in Z.- Formaliser An Interactive Support Tool for Z.- Using Z to Develop a CASE Toolset.- Using Z to Describe Large Systems.- CICS/ESA 3.1 Experiences.- Structural Metrics for Z Specifications.- Educating Management in Z.- The Knuth-Bendix Completion Algorithm and its Specification in Z.- A Message Passing System. An Example of Combining CSP and Z.- Structured Methodologies and Formal Notations: Developing a Framework for Synthesis and Investigation.- Posters.- Zork: A Typechecker for Z from York.- The Z Tool.- Use of Z to Specify a Secure System.- ESPRIT BRA ProCoS Project.- Safemos: Demonstration of the Possibility of Totally Verified Systems.- ESPRIT II: REDO at Oxford.- Formal Specification of Window Systems.- PRG Archive Server.- ZIP: a Unification Initiative for Z Standards, Methods and Tools.- List of Z Users.- Selected Z Bibliography.- Z FORUM Electronic Newsletter.