Executing Formal Specifications with Constraint Programming

We have implemented a technique for execution of formal, model-based speci cations. The speci cations we can execute are written at a level of abstraction that has not previously been supported in executable speci cation languages. The speci cation abstractions supported by our execution technique include quanti ed assertions that reference post-state values, and indirect de nitions of post-state values (de nitions that do not use equality). Our approach is based on translating speci cations to the concurrent constraint programming language AKL. While there are, of course, expressible assertions that are not executable, our technique is amenable to any formal speci cation language based on a nite number of intrinsic types and preand postcondition assertions.