Book Information
Formal Specification and Documentation using Z:
A Case Study Approach
By Prof. Jonathan Bowen
Centre for Applied Formal Methods, London South Bank University
International Thomson Computer Press (ITCP)
Thomson Publishing
ISBN 1850322309 (order from Amazon USA or Amazon UK).
Paperbound. Originally published 1996. xvii+302 pages.
The following is available online:
- Table of contents
- Foreword
- Preface
- Selected related publications
- Review extract
- PDF version of the book (838Kbytes, revised 2003; see also here and on archive.org)
- Supplementary files (slides and exercises)
Note: This book and the associated material may be used freely for educational not-for-profit purposes.
ISBN 1-85032-230-9. Now out of print, but available online.
Related information
- Short biography of the author.
- Publications by the same author.
- Z notation.
- Formal methods.
- A list of Z books is available in the Z FAQ.
- Online material for a Z course based on the book by the author. This includes slides for some chapters and the exercises used for the course in PostScript format. Updated in July 1998 with minor corrections and improved formatting.
See also entry under FreeTechBooks.com.
- Applications of Formal Methods, Mike Hinchey (University of Cambridge) and Jonathan Bowen (eds.). Prentice Hall International Series in Computer Science, series editor Prof. C.A.R. Hoare↑, 1995.
- Seven More Myths of Formal Methods, Jonathan Bowen and Mike Hinchey. IEEE Software↑, 12(4):34–41, July 1995. Previous versions available as University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory Technical Report 357, 12pp, December 1994, and Oxford University Computing Laboratory Technical Report PRG-TR-7-94, 19pp, June 1994.
- Ten Commandments of Formal Methods, Jonathan Bowen and Mike Hinchey. IEEE Computer↑, 28(4):56–63, April 1995. Previous version available as Technical Report No. 350, University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory, 18pp, September 1994. See also a summary.
Review extract
The Computer Journal↑, 39(7):643, 1996.
Finally, we have a textbook that presents the application of formal methods through a series of non-trivial case studies. In this volume, Bowen presents applications that range from network services to a text editor to rasterop↑ functions and the X window system↑. These studies are used to illustrate Bowen's key argument that formal methods provide powerful tools for documenting the design of complex systems.
Jonathan Bowen
Last updated 19 October 2016