Programming Research Group Technical Report TR-17-95

A refinement calculus for communicating processes with state

Luming Lai and J W Sanders

May 1995, 36pp.

A uniform treatment is presented of specifications, programs, and programming for communicating processes with machine state. The treatment is based on addition of a specification statement to a CSP-like language. The extended language is viewed as a specification language in which programs are identified with a subclass of specifications. A semantics is provided and sound refinement laws given to support the development of programs from specifications.

The result is a homogeneous framework for the specification and development of parallel programs which, as usual, guarantees functional correctness of an implementation as a consequence of development using its laws. An example is given to demonstrate use of the method.


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