Edward K. Blum

MFCS Conference 1986 Invited Paper

Algebraic Theory of Module Specification with Constraints

• Hartmut Ehrig
• Werner Fey
• Francesco Parisi-Presicce
• Edward K. Blum

Abstract The concept for modules in software engineering based on equational algebraic specifications is extended by a suitable notion of constraints. This allows to have loose specifications with constraints for parameter, export and import interfaces of module specifications without loosing executability of the body specification. Correctness of such module specifications ensures that data types satisfying the import constraints are transformed into ones satisfying the export constraints. Operations on module specifications like composition, actualization and union are extended to the case with constraints. They are shown to preserve correctness and to be compositional w. r. t. the semantics. Moreover these operations on module specifications satisfy algebraic laws comparable to those of R-modules in algebra.

STOC Conference 1977 Conference Paper

Efficient Reducibility Between Programming Systems: Preliminary Report

• Nancy A. Lynch
• Edward K. Blum

STOC Conference 1969 Conference Paper

Towards a Theory of Semantics and Compilers for Programming Languages

• Edward K. Blum

The concept of imbedding a programming language L into a formal system is introduced and used as the basis of defining the semantics Θ of the language. Θ is an operator which maps a program p in L onto a function. The pair (L, Θ) is called a programming system. If (L, Θ) and (L,' Θ') are two programming systems, a mapping Γ from L into L' is called a compiler. A compiler is said to be correct if Θ'(Γ(p)) = Θ(p) for p in L. These ideas are illustrated in terms of two programming systems, one for recursive functions and the other for Turing machines.