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Mathematical notation in formal specification: Too difficult for the masses? [Correspondence]

Mathematical notation in formal specification: Too difficult for the masses? [Correspondence]

Finney, Kate (1996) Mathematical notation in formal specification: Too difficult for the masses? [Correspondence]. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, 22 (2). pp. 158-159. ISSN 0098-5589 (doi:https://doi.org/10.1109/32.485225)

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Abstract

The phrase “not much mathematics required” can imply a variety of skill levels. When this phrase is applied to computer scientists, software engineers, and clients in the area of formal specification, the word “much” can be widely misinterpreted with disastrous consequences. A small experiment in reading specifications revealed that students already trained in discrete mathematics and the specification notation performed very poorly; much worse than could reasonably be expected if formal methods proponents are to be believed.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: [1] In Correspondence.
Uncontrolled Keywords: formal specification, mathematics, reading Z
Subjects: Q Science > QA Mathematics
Pre-2014 Departments: School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences
School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences > Centre for Numerical Modelling & Process Analysis
School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences > Centre for Numerical Modelling & Process Analysis > Fire Safety Engineering Group
School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences > Department of Computer Science
Related URLs:
Last Modified: 14 Oct 2016 08:59
URI: http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/25

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