Lightweight models for interpreting informal specifications

We explore the use of lightweight models, namely those in PROMELA/SPIN, by software engineers within the life cycle of software development. The primary goal is to improve the interpretation and understanding of an informal specification, not necessarily to validate the specification. We give details of an example involving an informal specification of an application protocol in telecommunications, namely the Request for Comments (RFC) standard for the Trivial File Transfer protocol (TFTP). We show how we were able to use this type of modelling in an iterative process, using tools that facilitate the process.

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