The properties of a simple and natural notion of observational equivalence of algebras and the corresponding specification-building operation (observational abstraction) are studied. We begin with a definition of observational equivalence which is adequate to handle reachable algebras only, and show how to extend it to cope with unreachable algebras and also how it may be generalised to make sense under an arbitrary institution. Behavioural equivalence is treated as an important special case of observational equivalence, and its central role in program development is shown by means of an example.
CITATION STYLE
Sannella, D., & Tarlecki, A. (1985). On observational equivalence and algebraic specification: Extended abstract. In Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics) (Vol. 185 LNCS, pp. 308–322). Springer Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-15198-2_20
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