SOFL book:
Formal Engineering for Industrial Software Development Using the SOFL Method, by Shaoying Liu
Springer-Verlag, March 2004, ISBN 3-540-20602-7
Abstract:
In any serious engineering discipline, it would be unthinkable to construct
a large system without having a precise notion of what is to be built and
without verifying how the system is expected to function. Software engineering
is no different in this respect.
Formal methods involve the use of mathematical notation and calculus in
software development; such methods are difficult to apply to large-scale
systems with practical constraints (e.g., limited developer skills, time
and budget restrictions, changing requirements). Here Liu claims that formal
engineering methods may bridge this gap. He advocates the incorporation
of mathematical notation into the software engineering process, thus substantially
improving the rigor, comprehensibility and effectiveness of the methods
commonly used in industry.
This book provides an introduction to the SOFL (Structured Object-oriented
Formal Language) method that was designed and industry-tested by the author.
Written in a style suitable for lecture courses or for use by professionals,
there are numerous exercises and a significant real-world case study, so
the readers are provided with all the knowledge and examples needed to
successfully apply the method in their own projects.