Research

My research area since 1990 is Software Technology, where I am interested in rigorous methods and their practical applications for the development and the maintenance of hardware/software systems—with a focus on relating requirements capture by high-level specifications to detailed design and their analysis (both mathematical verification and experimental validation). The main vehicle I use is the ASM Method whose development and industrial applications I have shaped since 1989.

From 1969-1989 I have worked in Logic and Complexity Theory - which still influences the way I address the investigation of hw/sw systems.

Research in Applied Computer Science (since 1990)

• Workflow and Interaction Patterns, Business Processes, Web Services
• Programming Languages: Semantics & Implementation
• Architecture Design and Analysis
• Software Engineering
• OS Kernels
• Algorithms
• Methodology
• Miscellaneous and list of expository papers on themes in computer science, logic and complexity theory
• List of papers in computer science (since 1990), referenced also in the Trier bibliography and the Karlsruhe bibliography

Development of the Abstract State Machines (ASM) Method for design and analysis of computer-based systems

• AsmBook: Monograph and Textbook (with electronically available teaching material) on the ASM Method.

  1. Goals of the method: describes the goals of the method and its scientific and practical role as a discipline for the engineering of certifiably reliable systems (Introduction to the AsmBook)

  2. Introduction describes the three constituents of the method: machine concept, ground model concept, refinement concept (from a talk to BCS/London)

  3. ASM Ground Model Method describes in detail the modeling constituent of the ASM method (from LNCS 2772)

  4. ASM Refinement Method describes in detail the ASM refinement constituent of the ASM method (Formal Aspects of Computing 2003)

  5. Fsm2Asm defines machine constituent of the method generalizing FiniteStateMachines.
     A formalized definition can be found in Chapter 2.4 of AsmBook and in Chapter 2 of Jbook.

• ASM Case Study Book (also called Jbook) exhibits ground modeling, refinement, validation and verification of Java and its JVM implementation

• Modeling Book for Software Practitioners: A textbook for self study

• Using the ASM Method for Modular Design and Analysis of Programming Languages A Survey (submitted) and a Talk at MS Research Workshop on Scalable Language Specification (June 2013)

• Using the ASM Method for Business Process Modeling

  • ASM Ground Model (Interpreter) for Metasonic’s S-BPM Tool
  • Tailoring ASMs as BPM Specific Language (submitted)

• Using the ASM Method for Hoare’s Verified Software Challenge

• ASM Survey: detailed description of the industrial and academic achievements of the method with an annotated bibliography of over 300 items, covering the period 1984-2001. Title: “The Origins and the Development of the ASM Method for High Level System Design and Analysis” freely available at JUCS 8 (1) 2002. Locally a Draft version is available. Updated December. 2002 version (with 440 items) in Ch. 9 (History and Survey of ASM Research) of AsmBook.

• Tutorial Introduction From FSM to ASM final version in Springer LNAI Vol. 3717, pp. 264-283, 2005

• ASM Method: A Quick Introduction for Students. 4 lectures delivered at ETH Zuerich in December 2004

• Using ASMs for Teaching (see also the 2018 book ` Modeling Companion for Software Practitioners')

  1. Teaching Fundamental Concepts of System Design and Analysis. Description of an (undergraduate-level) course which exploits ASMs as unifying framework for different models of computation used in computation theory (automata and formal languages), semantics of programming languages and high-level system design and analysis (ranging from requirements capture to code). CoursePresentation and DraftPaper. Final version in: Springer LNCS 3294 (2004)65-84
  2. Illustrating to the Practitioner the Power of ASMs for Modelling and Analysing Real-life Systems. A short Survey (taken from Springer LNI Series Vol.P-45 (2004) 235-239) of large-scale and industrial applications of ASMs. A more detailed survey (as of 2003) is found in Chapter 9 of the AsmBook.

• What ASMs offer for hw/sw system design and analysis (Copy of the ETAPS’01 Tutorial Abstract)

Research in Logic and Complexity Theory (1969 – 1989)

• Computability, Complexity, Logic Book
• Decision Problem Book
• List of papers on Logic and Complexity Theory containing the logic and complexity theory research results obtained during the period 1969-1989. The list includes the references to reviews in Zentralblatt and in Mathematical Reviews. Most of these papers are also listed in the Trier bibliography and the Karlsruhe bibliography.
• List of papers on Foundational Issues dealing with epistemological, historical and similar questions related to logic