High-integrity system specification and design (Q4935249)

According to its authors the book intends to fill the need for post-experience education in software design methodology and specification. Its nine chapters are devoted to the following topics respectively: specification and design, structured methods of software systems, formal methods, object-orientation, concurrent and distributed systems, real-time and safety-critical systems, integrating methods, implementation, CASE workbenches. Each chapter consists of a few introductory pages followed by reprints of two or more papers written by reknown scientists such as Frederick Brooks, David Harel, C. A. R. Hoare, Leslie Lamport or Jeannette Wing. Actually, these reprints constitute more than ninety percent of the book. Each of the papers presents a general discussion or an overview of a given field; most of them may be understood without specific knowledge. As nearly half of the reprints are papers published before 1990, the book ignores some recent advances, for instance in the fields of specification or object-orientation; nevertheless, most of the problems discussed are of general nature and hence still of interest. The book is excellent for a reader who looks for a competent introduction into one of the topics treated. It is inappropriate for a reader interested in the present state-of-the-art.