Formal description techniques for distributed computing systems, the challenges for the 1990s

The authors discuss research into how formal description techniques (FDTs) can be used both to support the complete design trajectory, including implementation and product testing, and to represent effectively the design concepts of the complete design trajectory for specification, at a high level of abstraction, of distributed systems. The discussion covers a number of such research activities conducted within the framework of the ESPRIT II project 2304, LOTOSPHERE. The topics covered include: aspects of design methodology, correctness-preserving transformation, the reflection of design criteria, the role of predefined specification and implementation constructs, and formal approaches to conformance testing. Some insight is given into the development of a comprehensive tool set that supports these aspects of design methodology. In conclusion, data obtained from the application of these methods and tools to some realistic pilot implementations are provided