[CoFI] Language Design Task Group Meeting - Minutes

[pdmosses@brics.dk]

A meeting of the CoFI Language Design Task Group was held
 
   16.00-17.00 on Tuesday, 3rd April 2001, in Genova
 
The meeting was open to all interested in working on tasks related to
the design of CASL.

Participants (17):

  Didier Bert, Michel Bidoit, Christine Choppy, Adriana B. Compagnoni,
  John Crossley, Bartosz Klin, Bernd Krieg-Brückner, Christoph Lüth,
  Sönke Magnussen, Ana Maria Moreira, Till Mossakowski, 
  Peter D. Mosses (chair), Wieslaw Pawlowski, Gianna Reggio, 
  Markus Roggenbach, Lutz Schröder, Andrzej Tarlecki.  
  [Please let PDM know of any inaccuracies in this list!]

AGENDA

  1. Change of coordinator
  2. IFIP WG1.3 Review of final CASL design
  3. Libraries of basic datatypes 
  4. CASL publications
  5. Other current and future tasks
  6. Future meetings

MINUTES

1. Change of coordinator

   With effect from 2 April 2001, PDM is the coordinator of this task
   group.  BKB has been the coordinator since the start of CoFI in
   1995 - many thanks to him for all his work in this connection.  BKB
   is henceforth coordinating the Tools Task Group, together with TM.

   The CoFI web pages are being updated to reflect the changes regarding
   coordinators (and mailing list moderators).


2. IFIP WG1.3 Review of final CASL design

   The review of the final CASL design by the WG1.3 reviewers was
   presented and discussed at the WG1.3 meeting held in Genova the
   previous week.

   Based on the review, IFIP WG1.3 has decided to *approve* the design of
   CASL v1.0.1, as documented in the present release of the CASL Summary.
   [Loud applause!]

   The reviewers recommended moreover that the various interesting
   sublanguages of CASL should be made more visible by listing them in
   the CASL documents, and by relating them (roughly, and only at the
   basic specification level) to previous algebraic specification
   languages.  PDM is already preparing a new document containing a
   concise overview of CASL, and will collaborate with TM regarding
   the insertion of the recommended extra material concerning
   sublanguages. 


3. Libraries of basic datatypes 

   MR presented the revised structure of these libraries, explaining
   the differences from the previous version.  It transpired that some
   participants had been contemplating an outdated version - the
   proper one, verison 0.7, is available (in input syntax only for
   now) at:
   
     http://www.informatik.uni-bremen.de/cofi/CASL/lib/basic/v07/

   as announced on the mailing list on 23 March 2001, see:

     http://www.brics.dk/Projects/CoFI/MailingLists/cofi-language/2001/msg00010.html .

   N.B. Language Design Note L-12 has *not* yet been updated to
   version 0.7.

   The meeting was favourably inclined to the style of the new
   version.  However, those who had not previously seen it requested
   the opportunity for further study before any decisions are taken.
   A new attempt will now be made by the authors of the libraries and
   PDM to get reactions to the present proposal.

   The libraries exploit full CASL.  The problems of using the
   libraries in sublanguages of CASL were discussed; it was suggested
   that tools might convert libraries to sublanguages, or that
   alternative versions of the libraries (with consistent notation)
   might be otherwise provided in popular sublanguages.


4. CASL publications

   A paper presenting CoFI and CASL has been accepted for publication
   in TCS.

   A publication proposal for an IFIP book on CoFI and CASL is in
   preparation by PDM.  It is to include edited versions of the CASL
   Summary, libraries of basic datatypes, user's guide, and formal
   semantics.

   Various presentations of CoFI and CASL are available for use, see 

     http://www.brics.dk/Projects/CoFI/Presentations.html .

   A draft chapter of the User's Guide is to be made available by MB
   and PDM as soon as possible.

   BKB mentioned the potential relevance of the German MMISS project,
   which will involve the development of educational materials
   concerning formal specifications, with CASL having a central role.


5. Other current and future tasks

   PDM is soon to release the new version of the cofidoc and casl
   packages, used to format the present release of the CASL Summary.

   Future tasks:

   * approval of extensions and sublanguages of CASL;

   * improvement of the sample specifications given in the Summary
     - MB indicated that the Methodology group would deal with this.

   AC suggested the possibility of giving lectures on CASL in the USA
   (e.g at Stevens Institute of Technology, where she is based).


6. Future meetings

   MB is (as always!) willing to host meetings in Paris.  Meetings may
   also be held adjacent or during major conferences, but none of the
   conferences this summer and autumn appears likely to attract a
   sufficient number of Language Design Group participants, and no
   concrete proposals for the next meeting were made.

   Note that CoFI WG funding is now finishing: CoFI is back to relying
   on local funding for meetings and collaboration.


PDM thanked the participants for taking time out of the crowded ETAPS
schedule to attend this CoFI Task Group meeting; thanks also to the
local organizers (GR and Maura Cerioli) for help with the arrangements
for the meeting.

-- Peter Mosses

CoFI Language Design Task Group Coordinator

=========   ============================================================
==== ====   Peter D. Mosses                     mailto:pdmosses@brics.dk
=========   BRICS & Dept. of Computer Science   [= pdmosses@daimi.au.dk]
==== ====   University of Aarhus                http://www.brics.dk/~pdm
==== ====   Ny Munkegade, bldg. 540             telephone: +45 8942 3285
==== ====   DK-8000 Aarhus C, DENMARK           telefax:   +45 8942 3255