Ten commandments ten years on: Lessons for ASM, B, Z and VSR-net

Abstract

Just over a decade ago, a paper Ten Commandments of Formal Methods [16] suggested some guidelines to help ensure the success of a formal methods project. It proposed ten important requirements (or "commandments") for formal developers to consider and follow, based on our knowledge of several industrial application success stories, most of which have been reported in more detail in two books [32,33]. The paper was surprisingly popular, is still widely referenced, and used as required reading in a number of formal methods courses. However, not all have agreed with some of our commandments, feeling that they may not be valid in the long-term. We re-examine the original commandments over ten years on, and consider their validity in the light of a further decade of industrial best practice and experiences, especially with respect to formal notations like ASM, B and Z. We also cover the activities of the UK Verified Software Repository Network (VSR-net) in the context of UK Grand Challenge 6 on Dependable Systems Evolution. © 2009 Springer-Verlag.