Discussion Topic 3

The Issue | Related Issues

The Issue

The hardest part of writing a formal specification is getting started. Discuss.

Visit the Moodle Forum to post your thoughts.

Related Issues

Don't take this topic too seriously! Feel free to inject some levity into the discussion (but keep it within the bounds of normal social intercourse, please :-)

Abstraction

Does abstraction represent a barrier? We have seen how the shift towards non-determinism can be a stumbling block for those inured in imperative programming styles, but is it that fundamentally a stumbling block?

Refinement

Does the ultimate need to build a refinement of the abstract specification limit what you might start with? How much are you constrained by the need to think about the how, rather than the what?

The Learning Curve

No, the hardest part about getting started, is getting started. Talk about how the learning curve that you have experienced has affected your adoption (or lack of it!) of the ideas of abstract/formal specification.

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