"X-Machine Toolkit within Eclipse Platform;"

Supervised by Dr AJ Cowling

Abstract

There are several cases depicting the applicability of formal methods in industrial application showing positive results. However many practitioners are still hesitating to adopt formal methods due to the lack of friendly and complete tools. The X-machine is an intuitive formal method, which can easily be applied at all phases of the software development cycle. This dissertation is to promote the use of the X-machines in the corporate companies for developing error free and correct systems.

On an abstract level, the X-Machine Toolkit developed within the Eclipse platform allows the user to enter the specification details of a system, which then generates a XMDL grammar of a X-machine in XML format, as well as animating the transition diagram of a system. Although it is a straightforward task, the process of creating such software taps on several different subject areas, all of which must be taken into account if the product is to be considered successful.

This report aims to provide all of the background knowledge required by the reader who may not be familiar with X-machines, Eclipse platform and the other technologies used in this project. It aims to guide the reader through the designing, implementing and testing phase of the product, giving a clear, transparent account of any snags faced and decisions taken. The report also comprises of a survey conducted to identify the important features that a conventional X-machine Toolkit should posses. The conclusion of this report aims to discuss the achievements of the author, and a few important features to be extended to the X-Machine Toolkit, in order to make this toolkit a complete toolkit.