Home
 

Structuring Specifications in-the-Large and in-the-Small: Higher-Order Functions, Dependent Types and Inheritance in SPECTRAL

Bernd Krieg-Brückner and Donald Sannella

Abstract: SPECTRAL is an experiment in specification language design that tries to maintain compactness in spite of a number of orthogonal concepts. The design is based on Extended ML and PROSPECTRA, generalising and extending both approaches. Of particular concern are the means for structuring specifications and programs in-the-large and in-the-small. The language includes constructs for defining general higher-order functions yielding specifications or program modules. Concepts of subtyping and (object-oriented) inheritance are included to support the specification development process and to enhance re-usability. Much of the power of the language comes from the use of dependent types.

LFCS report ECS-LFCS-91-135

Previous | Index | Next