Precise Definition of Software Component Specifications

Abstract A set of generic specification categories is presented which can be used to comprehensively define any software component within a certain class. With these categories as a template, a specific set of formal specifications can be generated for each component. Specifications for a particular component (an algorithm that estimates the position and orientation of a physical object using visual sensing) have been defined in EXPRESS, an information modeling language. A few example natural language specifications are presented for this particular component.