Newsgroups: comp.lang.misc
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!lavaca.uh.edu!menudo.uh.edu!sugar!ficc!peter
From: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva)
Subject: Re: Formal definitions (Re: ada-c++ productivity)
Message-ID: <MBOA8C9@xds13.ferranti.com>
Reply-To: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva)
Organization: Xenix Support, FICC
References: <1991Apr8.080931.23209@netcom.COM> <50097@nigel.ee.udel.edu> <RNMAX3C@xds13.ferranti.com> <50419@nigel.ee.udel.edu>
Date: Fri, 12 Apr 91 16:40:43 GMT

In article <50419@nigel.ee.udel.edu> new@ee.udel.edu (Darren New) writes:
> In article <RNMAX3C@xds13.ferranti.com> peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) writes:
> >In article <50097@nigel.ee.udel.edu> new@ee.udel.edu (Darren New) writes:
> >> You can also write programs which could not possibly be implemented in
> >> C, even by Dan Bernstein :-).  What more proof do you need?

> >This is as insane a claim as any of Dan's. If it's implementable in
> >principle it's implementable in C. It might take building another
> >language on top of C to make it convenient, but it's implementable.

> If you look closely at the complete post, you will notice that I never
> claimed that all LOTOS programs are implementable.

Well, you said there wasn't currently a compiler available for it. That
doesn't say the same thing as "it's not implementable".

> Of course, programs which you write based on a LOTOS
> specification will not necessarily implement the full specification,

... and may be written in C as well as anything ...

[ formal specifications for SDI ]
> >Is there an alternative? How do you specify hardware and human actions
> >based on a formal language specification?

> I understand a CPU called "viper" has in some way been formally validated.

Fine. How about the rest of the system (up to and including launch vehicles,
ordnance, sensors, etc...)?

> Also, law-goverend systems
> can formally specify the ways in which people are allowed to interact
> with the system, including the ways in which they are allowed to change
> the code and the laws themselves.

I see, the formal specification rules out infiltrating the U.S. with small
nuclear devices hidden in Ford Econoline vans?
-- 
Peter da Silva.  `-_-'  peter@ferranti.com
+1 713 274 5180.  'U`  "Have you hugged your wolf today?"
