CASL, the Common Algebraic Specification Language, was designed by the
members of CoFI, the Common Framework Initiative for algebraic
specification and development, and is a general-purpose language for
practical use in software development for specifying both requirements
and design. CASL is already regarded as a de facto standard, and various
sublanguages and extensions are available for specific tasks.
This book illustrates and discusses how to write CASL specifications.
The authors first describe the origins, aims and scope of CoFI, and
review the main concepts of algebraic specification languages. The main
part of the book explains CASL specifications, with chapters on loose,
generated and free specifications, partial functions, sub- and
supersorts, structuring specifications, genericity and reusability,
architectural specifications, and version control. The final chapters
deal with tool support and libraries, and present a realistic case study
involving the standard benchmark for comparing specification frameworks.
The book is aimed at software researchers and professionals, and follows
a tutorial style with highlighted points, illustrative examples, and a
full specification and library index.
A separate, complementary LNCS volume contains the CASL Reference
Manual.