Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T17:42:25.981Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

2 - Specifications I

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

Get access

Summary

The nature of a specification

The task of solving a problem using a computer can be reduced to the outline

  1. given THIS,

  2. produce THAT

or expanding, a little,

  1. given some DATA,

  2. produce some RESULTS

  3. which are the proper results for that data.

The results are either the ‘proper’ results for that data, or they are not. A specification can be viewed as a test that has been devised to check for ‘proper’ results. It does not need to show HOW the results are to be obtained although it may. Thus the task of solving a problem using a computer may be regarded in general as

  1. given d,

  2. produce r

  3. such that S(d,r) is True

where S(d,r) is a test (or predicate) which, given the data d and the results r produced from it, delivers the answer True or False, i.e. the results are acceptable (or not) for that data.

Example

  1. Let d be 169,

  2. let r be 13

  3. and suppose Sl(d,r) IS_DEFINED_TO_BEd=r⋆r.

(As is conventional in computing we are using ‘⋆’ to mean multiply. IS_DEFINED_TO_BE is an example of our use of a word or a phrase where a mathematical symbol would have been more concise. However we do not want unfamiliarity with symbols to prevent easy reading at this stage so we obtain clarity at the expense of brevity. The words in the phrases are always joined by underline and should be regarded as a single unit. In later chapters we will introduce the more concise notation.)

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1987

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×