Ui t nodi gi ngO p d o n d e r d a g 3 j u n i 2A s p e c t -O r i e n t e d L a n g u a g e s i n C o l l e i n C o l l e g e z a a l 4 i n g e b o u w ' Wa a i e r ' v a n d e U n i v e r s i t e i t T we n t e .V o o r a f g a a n d a a n d e v e r d e d i g i n g z a l i k o m 1 4 : 4 5 e e n k o r t e t o e l i c h n g g e v e n o p mi j n o n d e r z o e k .U b e U b e n t v a n h a r t e we l k o m b i j d e v e r d e d i g i n g e n d e r e c e p e d i e a a n s l u i t e n d wo r d t g e h o u d e n . V a n a f 2 0 : 3 0 b o r r e l e n b i j c a f é C e n t r a l P a r k i n E n s c h e d e ( R S V P v o o r 2 8 me i )T o m S t a i j e n t . t . s t a i j e n @g ma i l . c o m + 3 1 6 1 0 0 2 7 6 4 9 P a r a n i mf e n : J a c k e l i e n B a r e l d s e n R e i n S t a i j e n G r a p h -b a s e d S p e c i fi c a o n a n d V e r i fi c a o n f o r A s p e c t -O r i e n t e d L a n g u a g e s T o m S t a i j e n I S B N 9 7 8 -9 0 -3 6 5 -3 0 4 1 -5 G r a p h -b a s e d S p e c i fi c a o n a n d V e r i fi c a o n f o r A s p e c t -O r i e n t e d L a n g u a g e s "Common sense, do what it will, cannot avoid being surprised occasionally. The object of science is to spare it this emotion and create mental habits which shall be in such close accord with the habits of the world as to secure that nothing shall be unexpected."
T o m S t a i j e n
-Bertrand Russell
AcknowledgementsThe first person I would like to thank is my daily supervisor and assistant-promoter Arend Rensink. During the past five years, Arend has taught me a great deal about formal methods in general and about graph transformation, about writing proofs and to not fear Greek symbols. I also want to thank him for listening and understanding when things did not go too well, and for triggering me when things did not go very fast. However, the most precious thing I need to thank Arend for, is the enthusiasm and joy I have in specifying systems formally, particularly for the purpose of solving puzzles. I have carried out my Ph.D. studies at the software engineering group lead my Mehmet Akşit. The sprout of his mind "Composition Filters" has found its way into this thesis. His endless enthusiasm has been a continuous motivation, his presence a motive for generalisation, always to look for a "bigger picture". His feedback, advice and guidance can be found throughout this thesis.I like to thank the members of my Ph.D. committee: Shmuel Katz, Dark Janssens, Jaco van de Pol and Pieter Hartel. Their useful comments enabled me to dramatically improve this thesis.I would like to thank all members of the software engineering group and the formal methods and tools group. They have provided me with useful feedback during our regular seminars and provided me with a pleasant working environment and of course a number of unforgettable social events. In particular, I want to thank ex-fellow-Ph.D. student Pascal Dürr with whom I went on some awesome hiking trips, Ivan Zapreev, we "recognised" each other in Marktoberdorf and have had the best times since,...