Message sequence charts in the software engineering process

The software development process benefits from the use of Message Sequence Charts (MSC), which is a graphical language for displyaing the interaction behaviour of a system. We describe canonical applications of MSC independent of any software development methodology. We illustrate the use of MSC with a case study: the Meeting Scheduler

Using formal methods to support testing

Formal methods and testing are two important approaches that assist in the development of high quality software. While traditionally these approaches have been seen as rivals, in recent years a new consensus has developed in which they are seen as complementary. This article reviews the state of the art regarding ways in which the presence of a formal specification can be used to assist testing

Abstractions and Static Analysis for Verifying Reactive Systems

Fokkink, W.J. [Promotor]Sidorova, N. [Copromotor

Generating a Performance Stochastic Model from UML Specifications

Since its initiation by Connie Smith, the process of Software Performance Engineering (SPE) is becoming a growing concern. The idea is to bring performance evaluation into the software design process. This suitable methodology allows software designers to determine the performance of software during design. Several approaches have been proposed to provide such techniques. Some of them propose to derive from a UML (Unified Modeling Language) model a performance model such as Stochastic Petri Net (SPN) or Stochastic process Algebra (SPA) models. Our work belongs to the same category. We propose to derive from a UML model a Stochastic Automata Network (SAN) in order to obtain performance predictions. Our approach is more flexible due to the SAN modularity and its high resemblance to UML' state-chart diagram

Advances in architectural concepts to support distributed systems design

This paper presents and discusses some architectural concepts for distributed systems design. These concepts are derived from an analysis of limitations of some currently available standard design languages. We conclude that language design should be based upon the careful consideration of architectural concepts. This paper aims at supporting designers by presenting a methodological design framework in which they can reason about the design and implementation of distributed systems. The paper is also meant for language developers and formalists by presenting a collection of architectural concepts which deserve consideration for formal support