Constructing specifications by combining parallel elaborations

Abstract

An incremental approach to construction is proposed, with the virtue of offering considerable opportunity for mechanized support. Following this approach one builds a specification through a series of elaborations that incrementally adjust a simple initial specification. Elaborations perform both refinements, adding further detail, and adaptations, retracting oversimplifications and tailoring approximations to the specifics of the task. It is anticipated that the vast majority of elaborations can be concisely described to a mechanism that will then perform them automatically. When elaborations are independent, they can be applied in parallel, leading to diverging specifications that must later be recombined. The approach is intended to facilitate comprehension and maintenance of specifications, as well as their initial construction.