ZUM '97: The Z Formal Specification Notation [electronic resource] : 10th International Conference of Z Users Reading, UK, April 3–4, 1997 Proceedings / edited by Jonathan P. Bowen, Michael G. Hinchey, David Till.

Formal methods: A panacea or academic poppycock? -- An introduction to the event calculus -- Experiences with PiZA, an Animator for Z -- Automating test case generation from Z specifications with Isabelle -- The Z/EVES system -- Taking Z seriously -- A formal OO method inspired by Fusion and Object-Z -- W Reconstructed -- Using the rippling heuristic in set membership proofs -- A practical method for rigorously controllable hardware design -- Integrating VDM++ and real-time system design -- An approach to the design of distributed systems with B AMN -- Specifying reactive systems in B AMN -- An improved recipe for specifying reactive systems in Z -- A Z specification of the soft-link hypertext model -- Experience with Z developing a control program for a radiation therapy machine -- Preliminary evaluation of a formal approach to user interface specification -- Analyzing and refining an architectural style -- Weak refinement in Z -- Select Z bibliography -- Comp.specification.z and Z FORUM frequently asked questions.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 10th International Conference of Z Users, ZUM'97, held in Reading, UK, in April 1997. The volume presents 18 revised full papers together with three invited presentations by internationally leading experts. The papers are organized into topical sections on real-time systems, tools, logic, system development, reactive systems, refinement, and applications. Also a select Z bibliography by Jonathan Bowen is added. All in all, the book competently reports the state-of-the-art in research and advanced applications of the Z notation.