Specification of Software Systems

This text provides an introduction to program specification. It is based on graduate courses and courses offered to professionals working in the software industry. The authors emphasize the need for formal abstraction in specification and the advantages it confers upon the software process. The text also covers all three major specification languages - Larch, VDM and Z. The text discusses specification in general and the abstraction process, the mathematical tools required, and includes chapters devoted to the main formal methods with a significant example of the use of each discussed.