CS.HAM@r20.utexas.edu (Hamilton Richards) (08/07/87)
- - The 1987 UT Year of Programming with the support of the U. S. Office of Naval Research announces THE INSTITUTE OF SPECIFICATION AND DESIGN Scientific Director: M. J.-R. Abrial, Paris Assistant Director: Dr. Carroll Morgan, Oxford Austin, Texas 14-23 September 1987 The Institute addresses the problem of the specification and design of software systems. Applications are invited for attendance at either the tutorial or the research seminar, or for both. Part I. Tutorial. Mon 14 - Fri 18 September The tutorial is entirely devoted to the study of the development of imperative sequential state-oriented programs. It is shown that predicate calculus and set theory are by themselves largely sufficent for such developments, and that the remaining problems are those of organisation rather than lack of mathematical sophistication. The organisational problems are treated using the familiar module concept in a straightforward and unsophisticated way. The tutorial consists of 1. A review of the basic notations of predicate calculus and set theory used to specify and reason about state. These comprise mainly set-theoretic constructions of value spaces and state invariants as predicate-calculus formulae. 2. A discussion of various concepts and notations used to specify and reason about state transformations. The approach uses generalised substitutions, a generalisation of Dijkstra's calculus of weakest preconditions. 3. The presentation of a structuring device called the abstract machine (or module or package) used to organise such specifications into functional substructures. 4. A presentation of the concept of refinement of state, of state transformations, and eventually of entire abstract machines. Principal to this is the notion of data refinement, as developed at Manchester, Oxford and elsewhere. 5. A number of substantial case studies illustrating the previous topics. Part II. Research seminar. Mon 21 - Wed 23 September The seminar will be conducted by leading researchers in the field, who will present their solutions to the problems addressed by the institute. It will include reports of practical experiments as well as recent results. The speakers will include Prof. Cliff Jones (Manchester) Dr. Bernhard Moller (Institut fuer Informatik, Muenich) Dr. Tobias Nipkow (Manchester) Prof. Michel Sintzoff (Universite Catholique de Louvain) Prof. Richard J. Waldinger (SRI International) Further information concerning the research seminar will be forthcoming. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS Admission Anyone wishing to enroll in the institute should send for the full announcement, which includes an application form and information about fees. The number of places available is limited to approximately 80. Should the number of applicants to either component exceed 80, preference will be given to applicants whose answers to the questionnaire (also included in this announcement) indicate that they will derive the greatest benefits from the Institute and will be the most likely to disseminate the benefits to others. Secondarily, preference will be given to those who have applied for both components. Accommodations The Institute on Specification and Design will be held at the historic Driskill Hotel in Austin. Situated in downtown Austin in the entertainment district, the Driskill combines 19th-century charm with 20th-century amenities. Quick and frequent transportation between the hotel and the university is provided by Austin's Armadillo Express buses. So they may derive the greatest benefit from the institute, participants are strongly encouraged to lodge in the same hotel with the lecturers and with their fellow participants. Fees Discounted fees are available for participants from academia and government agencies: university faculty members and employees of US government agencies (other than the Department of Defense) are charged 50% of the standard rate; students and postdoctoral fellows are charged 25%. For employees of the Year of Programming's sponsors (US Department of Defense, Lockheed/Austin, and The University of Texas at Austin), the registration fee is waived entirely. A limited number of no-fee admissions will be available, on a stand-by basis, for students who make a definite commitment to helping out with the Institute's administration. Selection and Notification The selection process will begin on 15 August, and will continue until all places have been filled. A waiting list will be maintained for any qualified applicants for whom places are not immediately available. Applicants will be notified by express mail, net mail, or telephone as soon as they have been accepted either for immediate admission or for the waiting list. In addition, a paper invoice will be sent on request to each accepted applicant. An accepted applicant will be expected to remit his or her tuition payment within 10 days of receipt of an invoice or by 7 September, whichever is earlier. An applicant whose payment is not received in time may lose his or her place to someone on the waiting list. Withdrawals An accepted applicant may withdraw at any time before 14 September. Any fees that have been paid will be refunded provided that the YoP office can find a replacement (the sooner we are advised of a withdrawal, the more likely we are to succeed in finding a replacement). THE U. T. YEAR OF PROGRAMMING The Institute on Declarative Programming is the sixth in a series of Programming Institutes comprising the 1987 U. T. Year of Programming, which is underwritten principally by the U.S. Office of Naval Research, with supplementary funding from the University of Texas, Lockheed/Austin, and other sponsors. The other Institutes in the series are: Concurrent Programming (23 February - 6 March) C.A.R. Hoare (Texas and Oxford) Encapsulation, Modularization, and Reusability (1-10 April) D. Gries (Cornell) Logical Foundations of Functional Programming (8-12 June) G. Huet (INRIA) Hardware Specification and Verification (8-17 July) M.J.C. Gordon (Cambridge) and W. A. Hunt (Texas) Declarative Programming (24-29 August) D. A. Turner (Kent) Formal Development of Programs and Proofs (26-30 October) E.W. Dijkstra (Texas) For Further Information To receive announcements for any of the other Programming Institutes or for their proceedings (text or videotape), please contact the Year of Programming Office at one of the following addresses: U. T. Year of Programming INTERNET: cs.ham@R20.UTEXAS.EDU Department of Computer Sciences or Taylor Hall 2.124 ham@SALLY.UTEXAS.EDU The University of Texas at Austin Austin, Texas 78712-1188 telephone: 512-471-9526 [In case printed copies are posted: An electronic-mail version of this announcement, including the application form and questionnaire, will be sent upon request. In view of the institute's imminence, all applicants who have access to electronic mail (INTERNET, ARPANET, CSNET, BITNET, JANET, etc.) are encouraged to take advantage of it. ] -------