Foundations of Program and System Development

System and program development cover all activities to build software and/or programs - seen as descriptions of data and algorithms in a formal language - to define an application and task-oriented software solution. One of the large difficulties of program development is founded in the precise and unambiguous description and documentation of the program based on the associated description media, underlying models, theories, structures, decisions and the used ideas. The lecture presents the scientific base, and thus logical and mathematical founding of the concepts, models and methods arising with it. Beside these models and description media a methodical framework is necessary - development rules for the execution of design steps as well as a concept for the systematic program development. In the lecture only individual development steps are treated and the main focus is given by the methodical and description- technical foundation in software engineering. Topics are
- Data modelling: Abstract description of data structures
++ Signatures, algebras, models and description media
++ Axiomatic descriptions
++ Data type declarations and object model
++ Change of the data structure; stepwise development of data
- Modelling of program specifications and algorithms:
++ Functional programming: specification, refinement and verification
++ Procedure-oriented programming: specification, assumptions, Hoare-rules
++ Predicative specification, stepwise refinement, verification
++ Network structures
++ Sequential OO-programs and their specification

At the end of the module students know the essential fundamental terms of specification, modular design, abstraction, refinement, and verification techniques as well as functional and imperative programming. Students have a deep understanding in modeling of data structure, algebras, program specifications and algorithms. They obtain methods competence in the field of systematic, formal development of programs.

Modul IN0001: Introduction to Informatics 1; Modul IN0003: Introduction to Informatics 2; Modul IN0007: Fundamentals of Algorithms and Data Structures (recommended)

The module consists of a lecture and an accompanying exercise. The contents of the lecture-slides are conveyed in the lecture and through presentations.
Students should be able to study the literature and the content of the lectures to stimulate discussion of the topics. The exercises may be partly carried out in groups and must answer concrete questions work on selected examples.

Lecture with slides, tutorial with blackboard

- M. Broy, R. Steinbrüggen. Modellbildung in der Informatik. Springer, 2003.
- E. W. Dijkstra. A Discipline of Programming. Prentice-Hall, 1976.
- M.A. Jackson. Software Requirements & Specification - a Lexicon of Practice, Principles and Prejudices. Addison-Wesley, 1995.
- B. Meyer. Objektorientierte Softwareentwicklung. Hanser/Prentice-Hall, 1990.
- F.L. Bauer und H. Wܚssner. Algorithmische Sprache und Programmentwicklung. Springer, 1981.
- N. Wirth. Algorithmen und Datenstrukturen. 3. Aufl. Teubner, 1983.
- R. Bird and P. Wadler. Introduction to Functional Programming. Prentice-Hall, 1988.
- K.R. Apt und E.R. Olderog. Programmverifikation. Springer, 1994.

A 90 minutes exam to examine the expected learning outcomes and gained competences. Students should be able to write formal specifications, demonstrate an understanding of basic abstract algebra, and write the Fixed-point theory. They should be able to prove (or disprove) mathematical theorems in these areas, especially in correctness and termination.