Practical methods for the formal validation of SDL specifications

Formal design and validation methods have achieved most of their successes on problems of a relatively modest size, involving no more than one or two designers and no more than a few hundred lines of code. The serious application of formal methods to larger software development projects remains a formidable challenge. In this paper we report on some initial experience with the application of a formal validation system to SDL design projects involving more than ten people, producing tens of thousands of lines of high−level code over several years. The problems encountered here are large enough that most formal methods break down, for both technical and non− technical reasons.