The Way of Z: Practical Programming with Formal Methods
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Book Overview
This 1997 book is a self-contained tutorial on Z, a formal notation for modelling, specifying and designing computer systems and software, for experienced professionals and serious students in programming and software engineering. It presents realistic case studies emphasising safety-critical systems, with examples drawn from embedded controls, real-time and concurrent programming, computer graphics, games, text processing, databases, artificial intelligence, and object-oriented programming. It motivates the use of formal methods and discusses practical issues concerning how to apply them in real projects. It also teaches how to apply formal program derivation and verification to implement Z specifications in real programming languages with examples in C. The book includes exercises with solutions, reference materials, and a guide to further reading.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0521559766
ISBN13:9780521559768
Release Date:March 1997
Publisher:Cambridge University Press
Length:372 Pages
Weight:1.35 lbs.
Dimensions:0.7" x 7.1" x 9.2"
Customer Reviews
5 ratings
Z for math virgins
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 14 years ago
For some reason, there are about a million books on the market describing the Z specification notation. It isn't that widely used or popular a notation (although it should be); it just seems to generate books. Among all of the Z books, this one stands out as unique. Written by a professional in radiology who is not primarily a mathematician or software engineer, The Way of Z (prounounced as the British "zed", hence the title pun) describes how to write formal specifications in Z for a reader that may not know any significant amount of formal logic or advanced mathematics. This is a huge challenge, and Jacky meets it admirably. I have taught a dozen college classes using this text, usually to industry software engineers with rusty math skills. This book really does help them "get it". It is especially good at communicating why formal specifications are so important, and how to construct them in such a way that they are useful without extraordinary effort. If you're interested in formal specifications, and especially if you're interested in Z, start here.
An extremely readable introduction to Z
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
Probably the most readable introduction to the Z formal method that I have seen. Jacky does a great job of showing the reader why Z might be useful, gently introducing the concepts, and showing how they can be translated into real code. While this book is not a comprehensive Z reference, it is certainly a wonderful introduction that will give the reader most of the tools they might need (and a great background for learning any of Z's more obscure corners).
A Great Introduction To Z.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 23 years ago
This book is the first book I've read on Z or formal methods. It's very easy to read and understand, and replete with Z examples. I recommend it to anyone who's interested in learning Z.
Very helpful!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
The thing I found most helpful about this book is that the author presents Z in comparison to things that we are already (probably) familiar with: data flow diagrams, state charts, etc. He shows the difference between Z and these things, and walks you through a comparison of one system using all 4 different methods.
An outsandingly clear and comprehensive text.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 26 years ago
There are many good books on how to construct, verify, and establish actual program code using Z. I have read bits and pieces of many in an attempt to gain a general understanding of the whole development process and a breadth of approaches taken to it. I cannot say that I have come accross a book even approaching The Way of Z in both clarity and completeness. Dr. Jacky has left nothing out of this text and it reads extremely smoothly (without the sacrifice of complexity). I recommend it to any Formal Methods student, programmer and anyone interested in the formal specification, verification, and implementation process.
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