Formal Specification Generation from Requirement Documents

Automatic generation of formal specifications from requirement reduces cost and complexity of formal models creation. Thus, the generated formal model brings the possibility to carry out system property verification. This paper proposes a Controlled Natural Language (CNL, a subset of English), use case specification templates, and a strategy and tool support to generate process algebraic formal models (in CSP notation) from use cases specified using the templates and CNL. We define templates that represent requirement at different levels of abstraction. Moreover, a refinement notion is defined based on events mapping between abstract and concrete models.

[1]  Ramaswamy Chandramouli,et al.  Cost Effective Use of Formal Methods in Verification and Validation , 2002 .

[2]  A. W. Roscoe.  Modelling and verifying key-exchange protocols using CSP and FDR , 1995, Proceedings The Eighth IEEE Computer Security Foundations Workshop.

[3]  Mark Grand.  Java Language Reference , 1997 .

[4]  Flávia de Almeida Barros,et al.  NLForSpec: Translating Natural Language Descriptions into Formal Test Case Specifications , 2007, SEKE.

[5]  Rolf Schwitter,et al.  English as a formal specification language , 2002, Proceedings. 13th International Workshop on Database and Expert Systems Applications.

[6]  Beum-Seuk Lee,et al.  Automated conversion from requirements documentation to an object-oriented formal specification language , 2002, SAC '02.

[7]  C. Fillmore.  FRAME SEMANTICS AND THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE * , 1976 .

[8]  Jonathan P. Bowen,et al.  Seven More Myths of Formal Methods , 1995, IEEE Softw..

[9]  Augusto Sampaio,et al.  A strategy for the formal composition of frameworks , 2005, Third IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering and Formal Methods (SEFM'05).

[10]  Alan Bundy,et al.  Constructing Induction Rules for Deductive Synthesis Proofs , 2006, CLASE.

[11]  Andrew William Roscoe,et al.  The Theory and Practice of Concurrency , 1997 .

[12]  Craig Skibo,et al.  Inside Microsoft Visual Studio .Net , 2003 .

[13]  Bran Selic.  Tutorial: an overview of UML 2 , 2006, ICSE '06.

[14]  Ramaswamy Chandramouli,et al.  Cost Effective Uses of Formal Methods in Verification and Validation , 2002 .

[15]  Augusto Sampaio,et al.  Viewing CSP Specifications with UML-RT Diagrams , 2008, Electron. Notes Theor. Comput. Sci..

[16]  John Zukowski.  Java 6 Platform Revealed (Revealed) , 2006 .

[17]  Evan Lenz,et al.  Office 2003 XML - integrating office with the rest of the world , 2004 .

[18]  A Holt.  Formal verification with natural language specifications: guidelines, experiments and lessons so far , 1999 .

[19]  Norbert E. Fuchs,et al.  Attempto Controlled English - Not Just Another Logic Specification Language , 1998, LOPSTR.

[20]  Ralf Schwitter,et al.  ECOLE: a look-ahead editor of controlled language , 2003, EAMT.