(An) automated tool for the interface correctness in software design

Abstract

To determine whether a software is correct, attention must be focused on the problem of specifying precisely what it is intended to do. It was noted that many of the problems with systems were not the programmers`` fault but the fault of the specifiers. Although it is doubtable to believe that the specifications are perfectly correct, the correctness of specifications can be improved to some extent by providing interface correctness. Interface correctness is a property of system which results in the ability to perform a function without ambiguity. The interface correctness can be achieved by using control structures based on six axioms of AXES, the specification language of Higher Order Software(HOS). That is, once parent``s inputs or outputs are determined and a control structure is defined, the inputs or outputs of offsprings can be defined automatically, unlike any other techniques (e.g., PSL/PSA) of data flow analysis. This can reduce some specifier``s faults. The purpose of this thesis is to provide the specification language considering interface correctness. The implementation is done by using Information System Language Definition Manager (ISLDM) and System Encyclopedia Manager (SEM), and Report Specification Interface (RST) can be used to support the automatic checking of the interface.