jordan@unix.cis.pitt.edu (Kenneth D Jordan) (02/07/91)
I have heard of a package by Mike Spivey named FUZZ which provides
support for the Z specification language, and I have several questions
which can hopefully be answered by someone with FUZZ experiece.
1. I understand it's available for a nominal fee. Any idea of what
that may be?
2. Exactly what does it do? Correctness checking of Z specifications?
Manipulation of Z (schema renaming, etc.)? Logical proofs? Other?
3. For what platforms is it available? Is it available in source form?
4. How generally useful is it; i.e., is it still primarily a research
tool for the study of Z, or does it have utility for practical
specifications?
Obviously Mike Spivey's e-mail address would also be helpful. Thanks
in advance.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nick Nystrom
University of Pittsburgh
nystrom@a.psc.edu
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------bowen@prg.ox.ac.uk (Jonathan Bowen) (02/08/91)
In article <88713@unix.cis.pitt.edu> jordan@unix.cis.pitt.edu (Kenneth D Jordan) writes: >I have heard of a package by Mike Spivey named FUZZ which provides >support for the Z specification language, and I have several questions >which can hopefully be answered by someone with FUZZ experiece. > >1. I understand it's available for a nominal fee. Any idea of what > that may be? Between 250 and 300 pounds (1 pound is approx. $2) depending on the platform and distribution medium. >2. Exactly what does it do? Correctness checking of Z specifications? > Manipulation of Z (schema renaming, etc.)? Logical proofs? Other? It type-checks Z documents written using the LaTeX document preparation system. >3. For what platforms is it available? Is it available in source form? It currently runs on SUN 3s, SUN 4s (SPARCstations) and IBM PCs. It is written in C but the source is not available. It could be ported to other platforms if there was enough demand. >4. How generally useful is it; i.e., is it still primarily a research > tool for the study of Z, or does it have utility for practical > specifications? I can recommend it. (I am not an employee of Mike Spivey, etc., etc.) I have used it for all Z documents I have produced in the last year or two. It is very useful for catching typos but still lets you write silly and incorrect (although correctly type-checked) specifications. It is certainly a practical and robust tool if you are happy to use LaTeX. >Obviously Mike Spivey's e-mail address would also be helpful. If you would like an order form, please send a message containing the command "send z fuzz" to <archive-server@prg.oxford.ac.uk>. A free LaTeX style option and guide are also available. Send the command "send z zed.sty zguide.tex" to the same address. However you don't get the type-checker and nice fonts for the fancy mathematical symbols with this version. -- Jonathan Bowen, <Jonathan.Bowen@prg.oxford.ac.uk> Oxford University Computing Laboratory.