Chapter 7 Formal Methods
Motivation
The title of Truss’s book on punctuation, Eats Shoots and Leaves (Truss 2003), could refer to either
- A panda, if the punctuation is as published, or
- A criminal who refuses to pay his restaurant bill if a comma is added after the word “eats.”1
Clearly, the title of the book is not that of a system or software specification, but this anecdote illustrates that simple punctuation differences can convey a dramatically different message or intent. As has been stated by many, with respect to specifications, “syntax is destiny.”2
Complex systems have tremendous sensitivity to errors in a requirements specification, design document, or computer code—even a single erroneous character ...
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