Type Specifications with Processes

Abstract

Object-oriented software development is characterized by the repeated refinement of specifications and software components. The refinement of specifications is facilitated by the use of specification languages which support subtyping based on the principle of substitutability. In this paper we propose to specify concurrent systems by types represented as expressions of a process calculus. These types allow to specify also dynamic language aspects and still support subtyping and static type-checking. Keywords type specification, subtyping, static type checking, process calculi 1 INTRODUCTION Specifications have long been a cornerstone in the development of reliable software and will continue to receive much attention if there are appropriate specification techniques that can be adapted to the characteristics of the specified software and the software development process. The current trend in software development follows the object-oriented paradigm characterized by a hierarchical clas..