Basic Datatypes -- Current State and Future Versions

[Markus Roggenbach <roba@informatik.uni-bremen.de>]

Dear friends,

This is to inform you on the state and future versions of note M-6
"Basic Datatypes in CASL":

I. Version 0.2 available:
-------------------------

Since July '99 version 0.2 is available in the CoFI archives at

 http://www.brics.dk/Projects/CoFI/Notes/M-6/index.html
 ftp://ftp.brics.dk/Projects/CoFI/Notes/M-6/doc.ps.Z

We apologize to announce this version too late.

Version 0.2 of M-6 revises the basic datatypes in the light of the
discussion at the CoFI meeting in Amsterdam in March 1999. The main
changes are:

1) The section ``Some Remarks Concerning the Style of the
Specifications'' of version 0.1 is substituted by a completely new
section ``Rules of Methodology'', which provides a style guide how to
write requirement specifications in CASL.

2) The specifications of version 0.1 have been rewritten obeying these
``Rules of Methodology''. The main differences are:

-> labelling of all axioms,
-> coexistence of partial functions and subsorts, and
-> implicite specification of the domains of partial functions by
   strong equations

3) There are new specifications Pair, FiniteMap, Array. The announced
datatype ExactFixedPointNumber has been added.


II. Splitting the Note M-6:
---------------------------

According to the discussion in Bonas (see the minutes of the language
design meeting) we will split the note M-6 into 2 notes: one L-? note
including the library of Basic Datatypes proper, and one (version 0.3
of M-6) to include the methodological aspects.


III. New Version of the Basic Datatypes in preparation:
-------------------------------------------------------

We are planning to have the L-? note including the library of Basic
Datatypes proper available in October '99. The changes to the Basic
Datatypes of M-6,  version 0.2, will be:

1) Rearrange the specifications in CASL libraries OrderTheory,
Numbers, SimpleDatatypes, StructuredDatatypes, Algebra,
PropertiesOfNumbers.

2) Fix the bugs found with the static semantic check of the Bremen
parser.

3) Add an index (with page numbers) of all specifications.

Thus the current note M-6, version  0.2, is stable w.r.t. the specified
datatypes
and their signature.

Greetings
  Markus and Till


[Note from the moderator: I strongly invite the readers of this message to
read M-6 and react asap. In particular, it would be nice to know how far
the current specifications are convenient for concrete cases studies.
Moreover, I invite reactions of general interest to be sent to this
cofi-methodology list. It may be more efficient to send small minor
reactions directly to the authors (roba@informatik.uni-bremen.de). 
Thanks. Michel Bidoit]