Mathematical Approaches to Software Quality

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to various mathematical approaches to achieving high-quality software. An introduction to mathematics that is essential for sound software engineering is provided as well as a discussion of various mathematical methods that are used both in academia and industry.

The mathematical approaches considered include:

• Z specification language
• Vienna Development Methods (VDM)
• Irish school of VDM (VDM)
• approach of Dijkstra and Hoare
• classical engineering approach of Parnas
• Cleanroom approach developed at IBM
• software reliability, and
• unified modelling language (UML).

Additionally, technology transfer of the mathematical methods to industry is considered.

The book explains the main features of these approaches and applies mathematical methods to solve practical problems. Written with both student and professional in mind, this book assists the reader in applying mathematical methods to solve practical problems that are relevant to software engineers.

• Cleanroom
• Dijkstra
• Formal Methods
• Hoare
• Irish VDM
• Logic
• Mathematics
• Software Engineering
• Software Engineering Mathematics
• Software Quality
• Technology Transfer
• UML
• Unified Modeling Language (UML)
• VDM
• modeling

From the reviews:

"A software engineer should have a strong mathematical qualification likewise to the qualification of other engineers taking into account the specific needs of software engineering. The emphasis needs to be on the application of mathematics to solve practical problems. A recommended choice of appropriate mathematical disciplines is given in the book. … Small examples illustrate the approaches. … The book is suitable for students in introductory courses and for software engineers who are interested in methods which can assist in achieving high-quality software." (G. Riedewald, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1106 (8), 2007)

• Mallow, Ireland

  Gerard O'Regan

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