In software engineering there is a growing need for formalization as a basis for developing powerful computer assisted methods. This volume contains seven extensive lectures prepared for a series of IFIP seminars on the Formal Description of Programming Concepts. The authors are experts in their fields and have contributed substantially to the state of the art in numerous publications. The lectures cover a wide range in the theoretical foundations of programming and give an up-to-date account of the semantic models and the related tools which have been developed in order to allow a rigorous discussion of the problems met in the construction of correct programs. In particular, methods for the specification and transformation of programs are considered in detail. One lecture is devoted to the formalization of concurrency and distributed systems and reflects their great importance in programming. Further topics are the verification of programs and the use of sophisticated type systems in programming. This compendium on the theoretical foundations of programming is also suitable as a textbook for special seminars on different aspects of this broad subject.

The author presents a theory of concurrent processes where three different semantic description methods that are usually studied in isolation are brought together. Petri nets describe processes as concurrent and interacting machines; algebraic process terms describe processes as abstract concurrent processes; and logical formulas specify the intended communication behaviour of processes. At the heart of this theory are two sets of transformation rules for the top-down design of concurrent processes. The first set can be used to transform stepwise logical formulas into process terms, whilst process terms can be transformed into Petri nets by the second set. These rules are based on novel techniques for the operational and denotational semantics of concurrent processes. Various results and relationships between nets, terms and formulas starting with formulas and illustrated by examples. The use of transformations is demonstrated in a series of case studies, and the author also identifies directions for research.

The author presents a theory of concurrent processes where three different semantic description methods that are usually studied in isolation are brought together. Petri nets describe processes as concurrent and interacting machines; algebraic process terms describe processes as abstract concurrent processes; and logical formulas specify the intended communication behaviour of processes. At the heart of this theory are two sets of transformation rules for the top-down design of concurrent processes. The first set can be used to transform stepwise logical formulas into process terms, whilst process terms can be transformed into Petri nets by the second set. These rules are based on novel techniques for the operational and denotational semantics of concurrent processes. Various results and relationships between nets, terms and formulas starting with formulas and illustrated by examples. The use of transformations is demonstrated in a series of case studies, and the author also identifies directions for research.