57,938 research outputs found
Steps Towards a Method for the Formal Modeling of Dynamic Objects
Fragments of a method to formally specify object-oriented models of a universe of discourse are presented. The task of finding such models is divided into three subtasks, object classification, event specification, and the specification of the life cycle of an object. Each of these subtasks is further subdivided, and for each of the subtasks heuristics are given that can aid the analyst in deciding how to represent a particular aspect of the real world. The main sources of inspiration are Jackson System Development, algebraic specification of data- and object types, and algebraic specification of processes
Object-oriented querying of existing relational databases
In this paper, we present algorithms which allow an object-oriented
querying of existing relational databases. Our goal is to provide an improved query
interface for relational systems with better query facilities than SQL. This
seems to be very important since, in real world applications, relational systems
are most commonly used and their dominance will remain in the near future. To
overcome the drawbacks of relational systems, especially the poor query facilities
of SQL, we propose a schema transformation and a query translation algorithm.
The schema transformation algorithm uses additional semantic information to enhance
the relational schema and transform it into a corresponding object-oriented
schema. If the additional semantic information can be deducted from an underlying
entity-relationship design schema, the schema transformation may be done
fully automatically. To query the created object-oriented schema, we use the
Structured Object Query Language (SOQL) which provides declarative query facilities
on objects. SOQL queries using the created object-oriented schema are
much shorter, easier to write and understand and more intuitive than corresponding
S Q L queries leading to an enhanced usability and an improved querying of
the database. The query translation algorithm automatically translates SOQL queries
into equivalent SQL queries for the original relational schema
A System for Deduction-based Formal Verification of Workflow-oriented Software Models
The work concerns formal verification of workflow-oriented software models
using deductive approach. The formal correctness of a model's behaviour is
considered. Manually building logical specifications, which are considered as a
set of temporal logic formulas, seems to be the significant obstacle for an
inexperienced user when applying the deductive approach. A system, and its
architecture, for the deduction-based verification of workflow-oriented models
is proposed. The process of inference is based on the semantic tableaux method
which has some advantages when compared to traditional deduction strategies.
The algorithm for an automatic generation of logical specifications is
proposed. The generation procedure is based on the predefined workflow patterns
for BPMN, which is a standard and dominant notation for the modeling of
business processes. The main idea for the approach is to consider patterns,
defined in terms of temporal logic,as a kind of (logical) primitives which
enable the transformation of models to temporal logic formulas constituting a
logical specification. Automation of the generation process is crucial for
bridging the gap between intuitiveness of the deductive reasoning and the
difficulty of its practical application in the case when logical specifications
are built manually. This approach has gone some way towards supporting,
hopefully enhancing our understanding of, the deduction-based formal
verification of workflow-oriented models.Comment: International Journal of Applied Mathematics and Computer Scienc
A Survey of Languages for Specifying Dynamics: A Knowledge Engineering Perspective
A number of formal specification languages for knowledge-based systems has been developed. Characteristics for knowledge-based systems are a complex knowledge base and an inference engine which uses this knowledge to solve a given problem. Specification languages for knowledge-based systems have to cover both aspects. They have to provide the means to specify a complex and large amount of knowledge and they have to provide the means to specify the dynamic reasoning behavior of a knowledge-based system. We focus on the second aspect. For this purpose, we survey existing approaches for specifying dynamic behavior in related areas of research. In fact, we have taken approaches for the specification of information systems (Language for Conceptual Modeling and TROLL), approaches for the specification of database updates and logic programming (Transaction Logic and Dynamic Database Logic) and the generic specification framework of abstract state machine
Unifying Requirements and Code: an Example
Requirements and code, in conventional software engineering wisdom, belong to
entirely different worlds. Is it possible to unify these two worlds? A unified
framework could help make software easier to change and reuse. To explore the
feasibility of such an approach, the case study reported here takes a classic
example from the requirements engineering literature and describes it using a
programming language framework to express both domain and machine properties.
The paper describes the solution, discusses its benefits and limitations, and
assesses its scalability.Comment: 13 pages; 7 figures; to appear in Ershov Informatics Conference, PSI,
Kazan, Russia (LNCS), 201
Integrated urban evolutionary modeling
Cellular automata models have proved rather popular as frameworks for simulating the physical growth of cities. Yet their brief history has been marked by a lack of application to real policy contexts, notwithstanding their obvious relevance to topical problems such as urban sprawl. Traditional urban models which emphasize transportation and demography continue to prevail despite their limitations in simulating realistic urban dynamics. To make progress, it is necessary to link CA models to these more traditional forms, focusing on the explicit simulation of the socio-economic attributes of land use activities as well as spatial interaction. There are several ways of tackling this but all are based on integration using various forms of strong and loose coupling which enable generically different models to be connected. Such integration covers many different features of urban simulation from data and software integration to internet operation, from interposing demand with the supply of urban land to enabling growth, location, and distributive mechanisms within such models to be reconciled. Here we will focus on developin
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