Abstract data types and processes

摘要

Software engineering is about the judicious application of mathematical theory to practical, industrial-scale problems. Research in software engineering is characterised by the interplay between theory and practice: the best theory finds direct application; the best practice finds problems worth solving. The area of research addressed here might be termed linking theories of specification, or integrating formal methods. Practitioners have been asking how descriptions written in different languages can be related or compared; we can find many of the answers in the work of Tony Hoare.