I heard about B-Method which is invented in France. Is it an alternative to traditional programming languages like c++ and java or is it a completely different thing with different purposes?
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A:
No, as the Wikipedia article says, B-Method is a Formal Method not a programming language. You can read up on Formal Methods on Wikipedia too. Basically, they can be used during development to describe and verify algorithms.
Jelly
2010-02-23 11:34:47
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A:
Quote the B-website:
B is a formal specification method which, thanks to an adequate language, allows for highly accurate expressions of the properties required by specifications. One can then prove in a fully automated fashion that these properties are unambiguous, coherent and are not contradictory. This then allows us to mathematically prove that these properties are taken into account as the design stages progress.
Therefore, this method and its associated proof allow for: (1) Clear technical specifications and system specifications to be reached that are structured, coherent and unambiguous, and (2) The development of software that is contractually guaranteed to be fault-free.
To answer your question: No, B-Method is not an alternative to programming languages. It’s a way of creating blueprints for programs and for verifying that the thing you created really works as described by the blueprints. If you don’t understand this you can safely forget about it.
zoul
2010-02-23 11:42:45