Specification of a specification language

Abstract

ESPRESO is a recently developed specification system for process control software. It consists of a specification language and a software system which serves as a tool to check, manage, and evaluate specifications. The language was precisely defined by an Extended Attribute Grammar and by a mapping into a programming language. The definition turned out to be most valuable not only for the implementation of the tool but also for the improvement of the language itself. As a by-product of this work, a better understanding of the nature of a specification language was achieved.