Teaching Formal Methods: CoLogNET/FME Symposium, TFM 2004, Ghent, Belgium, November 18-19, 2004. Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (3294))

?Professional engineers can often be distinguished from other designers by the engineers{u2019} ability to use mathematical models to describe and 1 analyze their products.? This observation by Parnas describes the de facto professional standards in all classical engineering disciplines (civil, mechanical, electrical, etc.). Unf- tunately, it is in sharp contrast with current (industrial) practice in software design, where mathematical models are hardly used at all, even by those who, 2 in Holloway{u2019}s words ?aspire to be engineers.? The rare exceptions are certain critical applications, where mathematical techniques are used under the general name formal methods. Yet,thesamecharacteristicsthatmakeformalmethodsanecessityincritical applicationsmakethemalsoadvantageousineverydaysoftwaredesignatvarious levels from design e?ciency to software quality. Why, then, is education failing with respect to formal methods? {u2013} failing to convince students, academics and practitioners alike that formal methods are truly pragmatic; {u2013} failing to overcome a phobia of formality and mathematics; {u2013} failing to provide students with the basic skills and understanding required toadoptamoremathematicalandlogicalapproachtosoftwaredevelopment. Until education takes these failings seriously, formal methods will be an obscure byway in software engineering, which in turn will remain severely impoverished as a result "Professional engineers can often be distinguished from other designers by the engineers' ability to use mathematical models to describe and 1 analyze their products." This observation by Parnas describes the de facto professional standards in all classical engineering disciplines (civil, mechanical, electrical, etc.). Unf- tunately, it is in sharp contrast with current (industrial) practice in software design, where mathematical models are hardly used at all, even by those who, 2 in Holloway's words "aspire to be engineers." The rare exceptions are certain critical applications, where mathematical techniques are used under the general name formal methods. Yet, thesamecharacteristicsthatmakeformalmethodsanecessityincritical applicationsmakethemalsoadvantageousineverydaysoftwaredesignatvarious levels from design e?ciency to software quality. Why, then, is education failing with respect to formal methods? - failing to convince students, academics and practitioners alike that formal methods are truly pragmatic; - failing to overcome a phobia of formality and mathematics; - failing to provide students with the basic skills and understanding required toadoptamoremathematicalandlogicalapproachtosoftwaredevelopment. Until education takes these failings seriously, formal methods will be an obscure byway in software engineering, which in turn will remain severely impoverished as a result Front Matter....Pages - A Beginner’s Course on Reasoning About Imperative Programs....Pages 1-16 Designing Algorithms in High School Mathematics....Pages 17-31 Motivating Study of Formal Methods in the Classroom....Pages 32-46 Formal Systems, Not Methods....Pages 47-64 A Practice-Oriented Course on the Principles of Computation, Programming, and System Design and Analysis....Pages 65-84 Teaching How to Derive Correct Concurrent Programs from State-Based Specifications and Code Patterns....Pages 85-106 Specification-Driven Design with Eiffel and Agents for Teaching Lightweight Formal Methods....Pages 107-123 Integrating Formal Specification and Software Verification and Validation....Pages 124-139 Distributed Teaching of Formal Methods....Pages 140-152 An Undergraduate Course on Protocol Engineering – How to Teach Formal Methods Without Scaring Students....Pages 153-165 Linking Paradigms, Semi-formal and Formal Notations....Pages 166-184 Teaching Formal Methods in Context....Pages 185-202 Embedding Formal Development in Software Engineering....Pages 203-213 Advertising Formal Methods and Organizing Their Teaching: Yes, but .......Pages 214-224 Retrospect and Prospect of Formal Methods Education in China....Pages 225-234 A Survey of Formal Methods Courses in European Higher Education....Pages 235-248 Back Matter....Pages - These proceedings record the papers presented at the Symposium on Teaching Formal Methods (TFM 2004) held at the University of Ghent in Belgium, 18-19 November 2004." This symposium served as a forum to explore the failures and successes of formal methods education, to consider how the failings might be resolved, to learn from the successes, and to promote cooperative projects to further the teaching and learning of formal methods (FMs). The symposium brought together actual and potential formal methods educators, computer science and software engineering educators, industrial practitioners, project managers, and technical and scientific publishers. At present, education is failing with respect to formal methods, which could result in formal methods becoming an obscure byway in software engineering, which in turn will remain severely impoverished

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the CoLogNet/FME Symposium on Teaching Formal Methods, TFM 2004, held in Ghent, Belgium in November 2004.

The 15 revised full papers presented together with an invited paper and 2 abstracts of invited talks were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. The papers presented explore the failures and successes of formal methods education, consider how the failures might be resolved, evaluate how to learn from the successes, and attempt promoting cooperative projects to further the teaching and learning and the usage and acceptance of formal methods.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the CoLogNet/FME Symposium on Teaching Formal Methods, TFM 2004, held in Ghent, Belgium in November 2004. The 15 revised full papers presented together with an invited paper and 2 abstracts of invited talks were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. The papers presented explore the failures and successes of formal methods education, consider how the failures might be resolved, evaluate how to learn from the successes, and attempt promoting cooperative projects to further the teaching and learning and the usage and acceptance of formal methods Formal Methods teaching at undergraduate level has been going on at Manchester for a good number of years.