Bridging the Gap between Algebraic Specification and Object-Oriented Generic Programming

Abstract

Abstract. Although generics became quite popular in mainstream objectoriented languages and several specification languages exist that support the description of generic components, conformance relations between object-oriented programs and formal specifications that have been established so far do not address genericity. In this paper we propose a notion of refinement mapping that allows to define correspondences between parameterized specifications and generic Java classes. Based on such mappings, we put forward a conformance notion useful for the extension of CONGU, a tool-based approach we have been developing to support runtime conformance checking of Java programs against algebraic specifications, so that it becomes applicable to a more comprehensive range of situations, namely those that appear in the context of a typical Algorithms and Data Structures course.

Automatic synthesis of specifications for first order curry programs

“…[2,8,11,12,15,17,19,22]. Depending on the context and the use of specifications, they can be defined, either manually or automatically, before coding (e.g.…”

A 5-Step Hunt for Faults in Java Implementations of Algebraic Specifications

“…Mappings between specification types and Java types, and between specification operations and Java methods, can be defined using the ConGu refinement language. Detailed information about the ConGu approach can be found in [11], [12], [14].…”

“…In this paper we capitalize on and enrich an integrated approach to specification-guided software development, which comprises the ConGu approach ( [11], [12]) to the development of generic Java implementations of parameterized algebraic specifications, and the GenT tool ( [2], [3]) that generates thorough test cases for those implementations. We forward the reader to the referred papers to a justification of the chosen languages and methodologies, and to the comparison with other proposals with similar objectives.…”

Runtime Verification for Generic Classes with ConGu 2

“…In this section we provide an overview of the CONGU approach, focusing on some of the aspects that are visible to users: the specification language and the notions of specification modules and refinement mapping (see [16] for details). This is achieved by means of an example around a simple ADT -lists with merge.…”

“…In order to overcome this limitation, we recently proposed a notion of refinement mapping that allows to define correspondences between parameterized specifications and generic classes [16]. Based on such mappings, we also put forward a more comprehensive notion of conformance between Java programs and algebraic specifications.…”