Customizable notations for kernel formalisms

Rigorous formal methods and intuitive graphical notations can greatly enhance the development of complex computer systems. Formal methods guarantee non-ambiguity and support powerful analysis techniques. Intuitive graphical notations facilitate the communications between engineers preventing errors due to misunderstandings. Unfortunately, tools and techniques based on formal methods do not usually support adequate graphical notations; while tools and methods based on powerful graphical notations often lack formal foundations. This paper proposes a technique that allows kernel formalisms to be accessed through powerful graphical notations. The proposed technique allows graphical notations to be tailored to the needs of the specific application domain. This paper focuses on the tool support