A Formal Methodology for the Specification of Distributed Systems From an Object Perspective.

Distributed computing systems are systems in which multiple processors run independently by communicating with each other. The design of distributed systems is difficult to achieve as the execution patterns of distributed system are typically more complex than those of non-distributed computing systems. The application of object-oriented techniques to the design of distributed systems has the potential to increase the power of modeling and computing. A formal methodology which includes a specification language, developed from an object perspective, for the development of distributed systems is presented. The formal specification language, DOSL (Distributed Object-based Specification Language), represents the specification of distributed systems from an object perspective. DOSL has a hybrid format which combines the property-oriented approach and the model-oriented approach. In particular, it has strong features for message passing specification. The semantics of DOSL is defined formally by two operational semantics methods: transition systems and Petri nets. In addition, a formal object-based methodology for the specification of distributed systems is given. The methodology presents a framework for using the DOSL specification language and includes an integrated formalized method for identification of objects, their operations and behaviors from multiple modeling formats. The implementation of the methodology is supported by assistance with a knowledge base.

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