Templates and Generics for Translating UML Class Diagrams into Z

This paper explores the use of templates and generics in translating from class diagrams to formal descriptions. It presents an approach for the translation of UML class diagrams into Z, which builds on previous work, correcting problems found in those approaches. This allows a plug-and-play approach to different formalisations of UML semantics. As well as providing rigorous translation, we claim that our approach enhances the readability, conciseness and abstraction of the resulting Z specification.