A Database Foundation for Process Specifications

Abstract : A language suitable for system specification should allow a specification to be based on a cognitive model of the process being described. In part, such a language can be obtained by properly combining certain conceptual abstractions of data models with reference and control concepts designed for programming languages. Augmenting the resulting language with formal versions of several natural language constructs further decreases the cognitive distance between specifications of large systems and the modelled world. Several core elements of such a specification language are developed in this report. Emphasis is placed on modes of expression, such as declarative constraints an temporal reference, which are derived from natural language but are not available in existing formal languages.