Graphical Integrated Development Environment for Larch Speciications Graphical Integrated Development Environment for Larch Speciications

Formal methods are playing an increasingly important role in software development. The use of algebraic languages to formally specify software systems provides a better understanding of the functionality of the software and aids in ensuring the correctness and reliability of the software. However, to ensure software correctness and completeness, the formal speciication of the system must rst be consistent and complete. Syntax checkers can be used to ensure syntactically correct speciications and proof tools assist in automating proofs of conjectures about the speciication. Tools such as these aid in the construction of consistent formal speciications. The Larch Shared and Interface languages are algebraic and predicate-logic based speciication languages, respectively, supported by syntax checkers and a proof assistant. However, these tools were developed in a command line environment and the task of switching between syntax checking, developing proofs, and editing speciica-tions remains tedious. The Larch Development Environment provides features, such as editors, browsers, quick referencing, direct access to syntax checkers, and a graphical interface to the Larch Prover to facilitate editing, reuse, and proof construction with Larch speciications.