---
title: "Informality in Program Specifications"
authors:
  - "Robert Balzer"
  - "Neil M. Goldman"
  - "David S. Wile"
doi: ""
url: "https://ijcai.org/proceedings/1977/91"
pdf: "https://ijcai.org/proceedings/1977/0091.pdf"
venue: "Proceedings of the Fifth International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence"
year: 1977
pages: "389-396"
track: "Aids to Programming"
keywords:
---

# Informality in Program Specifications

Robert Balzer, Neil M. Goldman, David S. Wile

*Proceedings of the Fifth International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence*, pages 389-396.

## Abstract

This paper is concerned primarily with (1) the procedure by which process-oriented specifications are obtained from goal-oriented requirement specifications and (2) computer-based tools for their construction. It first determines some attributes of a suitable process-oriented specification language, then examines the reasons why specifications would still be difficult to write in such a language. The key to overcoming these difficulties seems to be the careful introduction of informality based on partial, rather than complete, descriptions and the use of a computer'-based tool that uses context extensively to complete these descriptions during the process of constructing a well-formed specification. Some results obtained by a running prototype of such a computer-based tool on a few informal example specifications are presented and, finally, some of the techniques used by this phototype system are discussed.