Precise standards through formal specifications: a case study: the UNIX file system
(1988) New Directions for UNIX. Proceedings of the Autumn 1988 EUUG Conference — Location: Cascais, Portugal (3.October.1988)
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- Abstract
- System standards, which are means for defining how a system should behave, are used by a wide range of people for various purposes. Standards must therefore be precise, complete and unambiguous. Informal specifications written in natural language cannot lead to definitions having these properties, but formal ones can. This principle has been applied to the UNIX system: the authors present a formal specification of the UNIX file system at the command level and at the system calls level. The System V Interface Definition has played the role of the informal starting point for this specification. The development of a formal specification has emphasized the deficiencies in the definition of UNIX and the differences between the various versions of UNIX, even for this supposedly well-known part of the system. The specification has been used to prototype (to simulate) the behavior and the effects of the various commands and system calls. This case study can be considered as a first step towards a formal specification of the complete UNIX system, providing a complete and unambiguous definition.
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Citations
Declerfayt, O., Demeuse, B., Wautier, F., Schobbens, P.-Y., & Milgrom, E. (1988). Precise standards through formal specifications: a case study: the UNIX file system. New Directions for UNIX. Proceedings of the Autumn 1988 EUUG Conference, p. 115-130. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/220483