Forum for Academic Software Engineering Volume 5, Number 18, Fri Aug 11 14:21:43 CDT 1995 Topics: Request: Book for V&V headache of the century CFP: SE:E&P'96 -- submission deadline extended CFP: ECBS'95 Papers on Education and Training ICECCS'95 Tutorial on Teaching Formal Methods ZUM'95 Educational Issues Session CFP: Special Track on Small Computing Systems A------------------------------------------------------- From: Jeff Bender Subject: Request: Book for V&V I've been trying to find the name of a good graduate-level book on software verification and validation, and was referred to you and FASE. Please put me on the newsletter list, and any suggestions you have for that book would certainly be appreciated. A------------------------------------------------------- From: Don Bagert Subject: headache of the century I thought that I'd give you a follow-up to the article [re rolling over to year 2000]. Some software condensed the the date into two bytes using the following formula: 512 * (year - 1900) + 32 * month + day So, for instance, 28 July 1995 is 48892. Texas Tech's student information system is an example of a piece of software uses this formula. Until recently, Tech's Administrative Information Systems was saying that theirs was a system which would fail at the end of the century; however, someone realized that this formula will actually work until December 31, 2027. (Now, whether it is a good thing that our current system can be used after 1999 is a different question...) This may have been reported elesewhere for other systems, but I haven't seen it. A------------------------------------------------------- From: mpurvis@commerce.otago.ac.nz (Martin) Subject: CFP: SE:E&P'96 -- submission deadline extended The submission deadline for SE:E&P'96 papers has been extended to 21 August 1995. A Best Student Paper Prize will be awarded (see below), submissions for which should be received by 1 September 1995. Tutorial sessions are also being organized, and additional details will be announced shortly. Write to me for a complete CFP. Software Engineering: Education & Practice (SE:E&P'96) University of Otago Dunedin, New Zealand 24-27 January 1996 A------------------------------------------------------- From: lwerth@cs.utexas.edu (Laurie Werth) Subject: CFP: ECBS'95 Papers on Education and Training [ED: Call topics include education and training. Contact the chair below for a complete CFP.] Call for Papers and Participants ECBS '96 International IEEE Symposium and Workshop on Engineering of Computer Based Systems March 11-15, 1996 Graf-Zeppelin-Haus Friedrichshafen, Germany Program Chair: Bernhard Thom Siemens AG, ZFE T SE 4 81730 Munich, Germany e-mail: bernhard.thome@zfe.siemens.de US Chair: Jerzy Rozenblit Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering The University of Arizona Tucson, AZ 85721, USA e-mail: jr@ece.arizona.edu A------------------------------------------------------- From: "Alexander D. Stoyenko" Subject: ICECCS'95 Tutorial on Teaching Formal Methods For a complete CFP, write to Alexander above. Advance Program ICECCS'95 First IEEE International Conference on Engineering of Complex Computer Systems Westin Cypress Creek Hotel, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA November 6--10, 1995 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ T11. Neville Dean, Anglia Polytechnic University, UK David Gries, Cornell University, USA Michael G. Hinchey, New Jersey Institute of Technology, USA Title: Formal Methods: Why? What? How? Length: Full Day (Monday, Nov. 6th) Abstract: Formal methods are now recognized as highly successful in controlling complexity and assuring the reliability of complex computer systems. Further, they are being recommended, and indeed mandated, in more and more international standards, so it is critical for graduate engineers (both software and hardware) to be trained and conversant in their application. However, the standards and rationale of formal methods education are questionable. Many practising software engineers, even after learning something about formal systems, have little skill in using a formal method. Many students lack the basic prerequisites for applying formal methods in practice ---basic ability with discrete mathematics and logic, the ability to abstract and build simple models, and the ability to derive rigorous proofs. The potential of teaching formal methods (and discrete mathematics) as a way of developing attitudes and analytical skills that can be of immense value in all areas of computing is not understood. This one-day tutorial will place formal methods in context, answering three important questions: 1) WHY do we need formal methods, and why should we be teaching them in our CS courses? 2) WHAT are these formal methods? 3) HOW should we teach them so that our students see their relevance, assimilate the techniques, and gain a skill in applying them practically? The tutorial is aimed at educators in all areas of Computer Science, but in particular those teaching classes related to Software Engineering, whether or not they are already teaching formal methods. The tutorial will be of particular benefit to those considering introducing a formal methods course or introducing formal methods into an existing course. At the end of the tutorial, attendees should be convinced of the relevance of, and need for, formal methods in industrial practice and of the need and feasibility of teaching formal methods to undergraduates. They will also have been presented with approaches to teaching both modeling and reasoning skills that have been shown to work with outstanding results. A------------------------------------------------------- From: bowen@comlab.ox.ac.uk (Jonathan Bowen) Subject: ZUM'95 Educational Issues Session ZUM'95 9th International Conference of Z Users Organized by the Z User Group Sponsored by BT, Forbairt, Praxis and University of Limerick Supported by BCS FACS and ESPRIT ProCoS-WG 7-8th September 1995 University of Limerick, Ireland For on-line information on the conference, see: http://www.comlab.ox.ac.uk/archive/z/zum95.html Educational issues session (9th September 1995) ----------------------------------------------- Neville Dean (ZUGEIS Organizer) Anglia Polytechnic University, Applied Sciences, East Road, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK. Email: cdean@bridge.anglia.ac.uk Tel: +44-1223-363271 ext 2329 Fax: +44-1223-352979 A separate mailing list related to the meeting, and acting as a forum for educators and others to discuss related areas, is available. To subscribe, e-mail to including your name and address and a brief statement of your interests. ZUM'95 Educational Issues Session --------------------------------- Saturday, 9th September 1995 Schedule to be confirmed Confirmed presentations include: Teaching Programming as Engineering -- David L. Parnas, Canada A Course on Formal Methods in SE: Matching Requirements with Design -- Paolo Ciaccia & Paolo Ciancarini, Italy Teaching Mathematics to Software Engineers -- Jeannette M. Wing, USA Mental Models of Z: I -- Sets and Logic -- Neville Dean, UK Equational Logic: A Great Pedagogical Tool for Teaching a Skill in Logic -- David Gries, USA Z Browser -- A Tool for Visualization of Z Specifications -- L. Mikusiak et al., Slovak Republic A------------------------------------------------------- From: Hossein Saiedian Subject: CFP: Special Track on Small Computing Systems 11th Annual ACM Symposium on Applied Computing (SAC '96) Marriott Hotel, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania February 17-19, 1996 (During the ACM Computing Week) SAC '96 ======= Over the past ten years, SAC has become a primary forum for applied computer scientists and application developers from around the world to interact and present their work. SAC '96 sponsored by the ACM Special Interest Groups SIGAda, SIGAPP, SIGBIO, SIGCUE, SIGFORTH, and SIGICE. Special track on Small Computing Systems ======================================== The ACM SIGICE is sponsoring a track on Small Computing Systems. Papers on any aspect of physically or economically small systems, including PCs, workstations, and minicomputers and the application of these systems across all disciplines are solicited. All submission should be send to the Small Computing Systems Track Chair (see below). Contact Hossein for a complete CFP and guidelines for submission. E------------------------------------------------------------------- FASE Volume 5 Number 18 Send newsletter articles to fase-submit@d.umn.edu or fase@d.umn.edu Send requests to add, delete, or modify a subscription to fase-request@d.umn.edu Send problem reports, returned mail, or other correspondence about this newsletter to fase-owner@d.umn.edu or kpierce@d.umn.edu You can retrieve back issues by anonymous FTP from from ricis.cl.uh.edu. You can access them through WWW at URL http://ricis.cl.uh.edu/FASE/ Keith Pierce, Editor Laurie Werth, Advisory Committee Department of Computer Science Dept. of Computer Science University of Minnesota, Duluth Taylor Hall 2.124 Duluth, MN 55812-2496 University of Texas at Austin Telephone: (218) 726-7194 Austin, Texas 78712 Fax: (218) 726-6360 Telephone: (512) 471-9535 Email: kpierce@d.umn.edu Fax: (512)471-8885 Email: lwerth@cs.utexas.edu David Eichmann, FASE Archivist Asst. Prof. / RBSE Director of R & D Web: http://ricis.cl.uh.edu/eichmann/ Software Engineering Program Phone: (713) 283-3875 University of Houston - Clear Lake fax: (713) 283-3810 Box 113, 2700 Bay Area Blvd. Email: eichmann@rbse.jsc.nasa.gov Houston, TX 77058 or: eichmann@cl.uh.edu RBSE on the Web: http://rbse.jsc.nasa.gov/eichmann/rbse.html