Larch: Languages and Tools for Formal Specification

Abstract

Preface Building software often seems harder than it ought to be. It takes longerthan expected, the software's functionality and performance are not as wonderful as hoped, and the software is not particularly malleable or easyto maintain. It does not have to be that way. This book is about programming, and the role that formal specificationscan play in making programming easier and programs better. The intended audience is practicing programmers and students in undergraduate or basicgraduate courses in software engineering or formal methods. To make the book accessible to such an audience, we have not presumed that thereader has formal training in mathematics or computer science. We have, however, presumed some programming experience.