: leaves 122-134 / There have been numerous studies on formal methods but little utilisation of formal methods in the commercial world. This can be attributed to many factors, such as that few specialists know how to use formal methods. Moreover, the use of mathematical notation leads to the perception that formal methods are difficult. Formal methods can be described as system design methods by which complex computer systems are built using mathematical notation and logic. Formal methods have been used in the software development world since 1940, that is to say, from the earliest stage of computer development. To date, there has been a slow adoption of formal methods, which are mostly used for mission-critical projects in, for example, the military and the aviation industry. Researchers worldwide are conducting studies on formal methods, but the research mostly deals with path planning and control and not the runtime verification of autonomous systems. The main focus of this dissertation is the question of how to increase the pace at which formal methods are adopted in the business or commercial world. As part of this dissertation, a framework was developed to facilitate the use of formal methods in the commercial world. The framework mainly focuses on education, support tools, buy-in and remuneration. The framework was validated using a case study to illustrate its practicality. This dissertation also focuses on different types of formal methods and how they are used, as well as the link between formal methods and other software development techniques. An ERP system specification is presented in both natural language (informal) and formal notation, which demonstrates how a formal specification can be derived from an informal specification using the enhanced established strategy for constructing a Z specification as a guideline. Success stories of companies that are applying formal methods in the commercial world are also presented. / School of Computing / M. Sc. (Computing)

No description available.

Formal specification of software systems has been very promising. Critics against the end results of formal methods, that is, producing quality software products, is certainly rare. Instead, reasons have been formulated to justify why the adoption of the technique in industry remains limited. Some of the reasons are: • Steap learning curve; formal techniques are said to be hard to use. • Lack of a step-by-step construction mechanism and poor guidance. • Difficulty to integrate the technique into the existing software processes. Z is, arguably, one of the successful formal specification techniques that was extended to Object-Z to accommodate object-orientation. The Z notation is based on first-order logic and a strongly typed fragment of Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory. Some attempts have been made to couple Z with semi-formal notations such as UML. However, the case of coupling Object-Z (and also Z) and the Use Case Maps (UCMs) notation is still to be explored. A Use Case Map (UCM) is a scenario-based visual notation facilitating the requirements definition of complex systems. A UCM may be generated either from a set of informal requirements, or from use cases normally expressed in natural language. UCMs have the potential to bring more clarity into the functional description of a system. It may furthermore eliminate possible errors in the user requirements. But UCMs are not suitable to reason formally about system behaviour. In this dissertation, we aim to demonstrate that a UCM can be transformed into Z and Object-Z, by providing a transformation framework. Through a case study, the impact of using UCM as an intermediate step in the process of producing a Z and Object-Z specification is explored. The aim is to improve on the constructivity of Z and Object-Z, provide more guidance, and address the issue of integrating them into the existing Software Requirements engineering process. / Computer Science / M. Sc. (Computer Science)

Avec la plupart des méthodes formelles, un premier modèle peut être raffiné formellement en plusieurs étapes, jusqu'à ce que le raffinement final contienne assez de détails pour une implémentation. Ce premier modèle est généralement construit à partir de la description des besoins obtenue dans la phase d'analyse des exigences. Cette transition de la phase des exigences à la phase de spécification formelle est l'une des étapes les plus délicates dans la chaîne de développement formel. En fait, la construction de ce modèle initial exige un niveau élevé de compétence et beaucoup de pratique, d'autant qu'il n'existe pas de processus bien défini pour aider les concepteurs. Parallèlement à ce problème, il s'avère également que les exigences non-fonctionnelles sont largement marginalisées dans le processus de développement logiciel. Les pratiques industrielles actuelles consistent généralement à spécifier seulement les exigences fonctionnelles durant les premières phases de ce processus et à laisser la prise en compte des exigences non-fonctionnelles au niveau de l'implémentation. Pour surmonter ces problèmes, la thèse vise à définir un couplage entre un modèle d'exigences exprimé en SysML/KAOS et des spécifications formelles abstraites, tout en garantissant une distinction entre les exigences fonctionnelles et non-fonctionnelles dès la phase d'analyse des exigences. Pour cela, la thèse propose tout d'abord deux approches différentes (l'une dédiée au B classique et l'autre à Event-B) dans lesquelles des modèles formels abstraits sont construits progressivement à partir du modèle de buts fonctionnels SysML/KAOS. La thèse se focalise par la suite sur l'approche dédiée à Event-B afin de la compléter et l'enrichir en se servant de deux autres modèles SysML/KAOS qui décrivent les buts non-fonctionnels et leurs impacts sur les buts fonctionnels. Nous présentons différentes manières permettant d'injecter ces buts non-fonctionnels et leurs impacts dans les modèles abstraits Event-B déjà obtenus. Des liens de correspondance entre les buts non-fonctionnels et les différents éléments Event-B sont également établis afin de faciliter la gestion de l'évolution de ces buts. Les différentes approches proposées dans cette thèse ont été appliquées pour la spécification du composant de localisation qui est une partie critique d'un système de transport terrestre. L'approche dédiée à Event-B est implémentée dans l'outil SysKAOS2EventB, permettant ainsi de générer une architecture de raffinement Event-B à partir d'un modèle de buts fonctionnels SysML/KAOS. Cette mise en œuvre s'appuie principalement sur les technologies de transformation de modèles à modèles / With most of formal methods, an initial formal model can be refined in multiple steps, until the final refinement contains enough details for an implementation. Most of the time, this initial model is built from the description obtained by the requirements analysis. Unfortunately, this transition from the requirements phase to the formal specification phase is one of the most painful steps in the formal development chain. In fact, building this initial model requires a high level of competence and a lot of practice, especially as there is no well-defined process to assist designers. Parallel to this problem, it appears that non-functional requirements are largely marginalized in the software development process. The current industrial practices consist generally in specifying only functional requirements during the first levels of this process and in leaving the consideration of non-functional requirements in the implementation level. To overcome these problems, this thesis aims to define a coupling between a requirement model expressed in SysML/KAOS and an abstract formal specification, while ensuring a distinction between functional and non-functional requirements from the requirements analysis phase. For that purpose, this thesis proposes firstly two different approaches (one dedicated to the classical B and the other to Event-B) in which abstract formal models are built incrementally from the SysML/KAOS functional goal model. Afterwards, the thesis focuses on the approach dedicated to Event-B in order to complete it and enrich it by using the two other SysML/KAOS models describing the non-functional goals and their impact on functional goals. We present different ways to inject these non-functional goals and their impact into the obtained abstract Event-B models. Links of correspondance between the non-functional goals and the different Event-B elements are also defined in order to improve the management of the evolution of these goals. The different approaches proposed in this thesis have been applied to the specification of a localization component which is a critical part of a land transportation system. The approach dedicated to Event-B is implemented in the SysKAOS2EventB tool, allowing hence the generation of an Event-B refinement architecture from a SysML/KAOS functional goal model. This implementation is mainly based on the model-to-model transformation technologies

Dans cette thèse nous proposons un modèle temporel dans le cadre des machines à états abstraits (ASM). Une extension du langage de spécification ASM est développé qui correspond à ce modéle temporel pour le temps continu. L'extension du langage avec des constructions de temps permet de diminuer la taille de la spécification et donc de réduire la probabilité d'erreurs. La sémantique de l'extension du langage ASM est fournie et prend en compte les définitions des fonctions externes, les valeurs des délais et les choix de résolution des non-déterminismes. Un sous-système de vérification des propriétés exprimées en logique FOTL (FirstOrder Timed Logic) est développé. Un simulateur d'ASMs temporisées est développé et implémenté, il comprend un analyseur syntaxique, un interprète du langage, un sous-système de vérification des propriétés ainsi qu'une interface graphique / In this thesis a temporal model for abstract state machines (ASM) method is pro- posed. An extension of ASM specification language on the base of the proposed temporal model with continuous time is developed. The language extension helps to reduce the size of the specification hence to diminish the probability of an error. The semantics of the extended ASM language is developed which takes into account the definitions of external functions, the values of time delays and the method of non-determinism resolving. A subsystem for verification of user properties in the FOTL language is developed. A simulator prototype for ASMs with time is developed and implemented. It includes the parser of the timed ASM language, the interpreter, the verification subsystem and the graphical user interface

In the recent trends, automated systems are increasingly seen to be embedded in human life with the increase of human dependence on software to perform safetycritical tasks like airbag deployment in automobiles to real-time mission planning in UAVs (Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles). The safety-critical nature of the aerospace domain demands for a software without any errors to perform these tasks. Therefore the field of computer science needs to address these challenges by providing necessary formalisms, techniques, and tools that will ensure the correctness of systems despite their complexity. DO-178C/EC-12C is a standard that governs the certification of software for airborne systems in commercial aircraft. The additional supplement DO- 333 enables us to use the formal methods in our technique of verifying the autonomous behaviour of UAV’s. The Mission Manager system is primarily responsible for the execution of behaviour sequence in online and offline mission planning of UAV. This work presents the process of software verification by making use of formal modelling using model checking of the Mission Manager component of ARTIS (Autonomous Rotorcraft Testbed for Intelligent Systems) UAV by gaining advantages from a generic modelling approach. The main idea is to make use of the designed generic models into specific cases like ARTIS in our case. The generic models are designed using the ALFU(R)S (Autonomy Levels For Unmanned Rotorcraft System) framework that delineates the commonalities of several UAVs considered around the world which also includes the ARTIS UAV. Furthermore this work walks through every process involved in model checking like requirements extraction and documentation using a template based method, requirements specification using the temporal logics like LTL and CTL, developing a formal model using NuSMV as a model checking tool to analyze the requirements against the model for the Mission Manager component of MiPlEx (Mission Planning and Execution). Additionally as a validation approach, test sequences are generated by using trap properties or negation properties. This aids for a test generation approach by harnessing counterexample generating capabilities of the NuSMV Model Checker.

Specification plays a vital role in software engineering to facilitate the development of highly dependable software. The importance of specification in software development is to serve, amongst others, as a communication tool for stakeholders in the software project. The specification also adds to the understanding of operations, and describes the properties of a system. Various techniques may be used for specification work. Z is a formal specification language that is based on a strongly-typed fragment of Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory and first-order logic to provide for precise and unambiguous specifications. Z uses mathematical notation to build abstract data, which is necessary for a specification. The role of abstraction is to describe what the system does without prescribing how it should be done. Diagrams, on the other hand, have also been used in various areas, and in software engineering they could be used to add a visual component to software specifications. It is plausible that diagrams may also be used to reason in a semi-formal way about the properties of a specification. Many diagrammatic languages are based on contours and set theory. Examples of these languages are Euler-, Spider-, Venn- and Pierce diagrams. Euler diagrams form the foundation of most diagrams that are based on closed curves. Diagrams, on the other hand, have also been used in various areas, and in software engineering they could be used to add a visual component to software specifications. It is plausible that diagrams may also be used to reason in a semi-formal way about the properties of a specification. Many diagrammatic languages are based on contours and set theory. Examples of these languages are Euler-, Spider-, Venn- and Pierce diagrams. Euler diagrams form the foundation of most diagrams that are based on closed curves. The purpose of this research is to demonstrate the extent to which diagrams can be used to represent a Z specification. A case study is used to transform the specification modelled with Z language into a diagrammatic specification. Euler, spider, Venn and Pierce diagrams are combined for this purpose, to form one diagrammatic notation that is used to transform a Z specification / School of Computing / M. Sc. (Information Systems)

Formal specification of software systems has been very promising. Critics against the end results of formal methods, that is, producing quality software products, is certainly rare. Instead, reasons have been formulated to justify why the adoption of the technique in industry remains limited. Some of the reasons are: • Steap learning curve; formal techniques are said to be hard to use. • Lack of a step-by-step construction mechanism and poor guidance. • Difficulty to integrate the technique into the existing software processes. Z is, arguably, one of the successful formal specification techniques that was extended to Object-Z to accommodate object-orientation. The Z notation is based on first-order logic and a strongly typed fragment of Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory. Some attempts have been made to couple Z with semi-formal notations such as UML. However, the case of coupling Object-Z (and also Z) and the Use Case Maps (UCMs) notation is still to be explored. A Use Case Map (UCM) is a scenario-based visual notation facilitating the requirements definition of complex systems. A UCM may be generated either from a set of informal requirements, or from use cases normally expressed in natural language. UCMs have the potential to bring more clarity into the functional description of a system. It may furthermore eliminate possible errors in the user requirements. But UCMs are not suitable to reason formally about system behaviour. In this dissertation, we aim to demonstrate that a UCM can be transformed into Z and Object-Z, by providing a transformation framework. Through a case study, the impact of using UCM as an intermediate step in the process of producing a Z and Object-Z specification is explored. The aim is to improve on the constructivity of Z and Object-Z, provide more guidance, and address the issue of integrating them into the existing Software Requirements engineering process. / Computer Science / M. Sc. (Computer Science) / D. Phil. (Computer Science)

In the recent trends, automated systems are increasingly seen to be embedded in human life with the increase of human dependence on software to perform safetycritical tasks like airbag deployment in automobiles to real-time mission planning in UAVs (Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles). The safety-critical nature of the aerospace domain demands for a software without any errors to perform these tasks. Therefore the field of computer science needs to address these challenges by providing necessary formalisms, techniques, and tools that will ensure the correctness of systems despite their complexity. DO-178C/EC-12C is a standard that governs the certification of software for airborne systems in commercial aircraft. The additional supplement DO- 333 enables us to use the formal methods in our technique of verifying the autonomous behaviour of UAV’s. The Mission Manager system is primarily responsible for the execution of behaviour sequence in online and offline mission planning of UAV. This work presents the process of software verification by making use of formal modelling using model checking of the Mission Manager component of ARTIS (Autonomous Rotorcraft Testbed for Intelligent Systems) UAV by gaining advantages from a generic modelling approach. The main idea is to make use of the designed generic models into specific cases like ARTIS in our case. The generic models are designed using the ALFU(R)S (Autonomy Levels For Unmanned Rotorcraft System) framework that delineates the commonalities of several UAVs considered around the world which also includes the ARTIS UAV. Furthermore this work walks through every process involved in model checking like requirements extraction and documentation using a template based method, requirements specification using the temporal logics like LTL and CTL, developing a formal model using NuSMV as a model checking tool to analyze the requirements against the model for the Mission Manager component of MiPlEx (Mission Planning and Execution). Additionally as a validation approach, test sequences are generated by using trap properties or negation properties. This aids for a test generation approach by harnessing counterexample generating capabilities of the NuSMV Model Checker.

Un objectif principal du génie logiciel est de pouvoir produire des logiciels complexes, de grande taille et fiables en un temps raisonnable. La technologie orientée objet (OO) a fourni de bons concepts et des techniques de modélisation et de programmation qui ont permis de développer des applications complexes tant dans le monde académique que dans le monde industriel. Cette expérience a cependant permis de découvrir les faiblesses du paradigme objet (par exemples, la dispersion de code et le problème de traçabilité). La programmation orientée aspect (OA) apporte une solution simple aux limitations de la programmation OO, telle que le problème des préoccupations transversales. Ces préoccupations transversales se traduisent par la dispersion du même code dans plusieurs modules du système ou l’emmêlement de plusieurs morceaux de code dans un même module. Cette nouvelle méthode de programmer permet d’implémenter chaque problématique indépendamment des autres, puis de les assembler selon des règles bien définies. La programmation OA promet donc une meilleure productivité, une meilleure réutilisation du code et une meilleure adaptation du code aux changements. Très vite, cette nouvelle façon de faire s’est vue s’étendre sur tout le processus de développement de logiciel en ayant pour but de préserver la modularité et la traçabilité, qui sont deux propriétés importantes des logiciels de bonne qualité. Cependant, la technologie OA présente de nombreux défis. Le raisonnement, la spécification, et la vérification des programmes OA présentent des difficultés d’autant plus que ces programmes évoluent dans le temps. Par conséquent, le raisonnement modulaire de ces programmes est requis sinon ils nécessiteraient d’être réexaminés au complet chaque fois qu’un composant est changé ou ajouté. Il est cependant bien connu dans la littérature que le raisonnement modulaire sur les programmes OA est difficile vu que les aspects appliqués changent souvent le comportement de leurs composantes de base [47]. Ces mêmes difficultés sont présentes au niveau des phases de spécification et de vérification du processus de développement des logiciels. Au meilleur de nos connaissances, la spécification modulaire et la vérification modulaire sont faiblement couvertes et constituent un champ de recherche très intéressant. De même, les interactions entre aspects est un sérieux problème dans la communauté des aspects. Pour faire face à ces problèmes, nous avons choisi d’utiliser la théorie des catégories et les techniques des spécifications algébriques. Pour apporter une solution aux problèmes ci-dessus cités, nous avons utilisé les travaux de Wiels [110] et d’autres contributions telles que celles décrites dans le livre [25]. Nous supposons que le système en développement est déjà décomposé en aspects et classes. La première contribution de notre thèse est l’extension des techniques des spécifications algébriques à la notion d’aspect. Deuxièmement, nous avons défini une logique, LA , qui est utilisée dans le corps des spécifications pour décrire le comportement de ces composantes. La troisième contribution consiste en la définition de l’opérateur de tissage qui correspond à la relation d’interconnexion entre les modules d’aspect et les modules de classe. La quatrième contribution concerne le développement d’un mécanisme de prévention qui permet de prévenir les interactions indésirables dans les systèmes orientés aspect. / One of the main goals of software engineering is to enable the construction of large, complex and reliable software in timely fashion. Object-oriented (OO) technology has provided modeling and programming principles and techniques that allow developing complex software systems both in academic and industrial areas. In return, experience gained in OO system development has allowed discovering some limitations of object technology (e.g., code scattering and poor traceability problems). Aspect Oriented (AO) Technology is a post-object-oriented technology emerged to overcome limitations of Object Oriented (OO) Technology, such as the crosscutting concern problem. Crosscutting concerns are scattered and tangled concerns. Major goals of Aspect Oriented Programming (AOP) include improving modularity, cohesion, and overall software quality. Aspect Oriented Programming results in the evolution of programming activities to fullblown software engineering processes, to preserve modularity and traceability, which are two important properties of high-quality software. Yet, there are also many challenges in AO Technology. Reasoning, specification, and verification of AO programs present unique challenges especially as such programs evolve over time. Consequently, modular reasoning of such programs is highly attractive as it enables tractable evolution, otherwise necessitating that the entire program be reexamined each time a component is changed or is added. It is well known in the literature, however, that modular reasoning about AO programs is difficult due to the fact that the aspects applied often alter the behavior of the base components [47]. The same modular reasoning difficulties are also present in the specification and verification phases of software development process. To the best of our knowledge, AO modular specification and verification is a weakly covered subject and constitutes an interesting open research field. Also, aspect interaction is a major concern in the aspect-oriented community. To deal with these problems, we choose to use category theory and algebraic specification techniques. To achieve the above thesis goals, we use the work of Wiels [110] and other contributions such as the one described in [25]. We assume at the beginning that the system under development is already decomposed into aspect and class components. The first contribution of our thesis is the extension of the algebraic specification technique to the notion of aspect. Secondly, we define a logic, LA that is used in specification bodies to describe the behavior of these components. The third contribution concerns the defini tion of the weaving operator corresponding to the weaving interconnection relationship between aspect modules and class modules. The fourth contribution consists of the design of a prevention policy that is used to prevent or avoid undesirable aspect interactions in aspect-oriented systems.