Formalising Java Safety—An Overview

Abstract

We review the existing literature on Java safety, emphasizing formal approaches, and the impact of Java safety on small footprint devices such as smart cards. The conclusion is that while a lot of good work has been done, a more concerted effort is needed to build a coherent set of machine readable formal models of the whole of Java and its implementation. This is a formidable task but we believe it is essential to building trust in Java safety, and thence to achieve ITSEC level 6 or Common Criteria level 7 certification for Java programs. We have tried to avoid technical detail, and focus on the bigger issues. The interested reader may wish to consult some of the many papers that we refer to fill in the details.