An Integrated Specification of Values, Objects and Processes for Object-Oriented Models (Extended Abstract)

The goal of the research summarized in this abstract is first, to formalize object-oriented models and second, to develop a method for producing these models. This goal can be stated in semi-formal form as the solution of the following equations for the unknown terms that appear on the right-hand side of an equation, but do not appear at a left-hand side. (1) method = specification language + semantics + pragmatics (2) pragmatics = tasks + task ordering + heuristics By ‘‘method’’ we mean a method to develop a conceptual model (CM) of a universe of discourse (UoD). The specification language should be formal, and each consistent specification has an intended denotational model which can serve as a CM of a UoD. The semantics should include a significant portion of the structures that are found in the "semantic data models" studied in the past and in object-oriented models currently being developed. The pragmatics give advice on how to go about finding the relevant structures in the UoD and specify a model of them in the specification language. This is basically a set of tasks to be executed by the analyst/designer. Often, there should also be an advice on the ordering of tasks as well as a set of heuristics that help the analyst make decisions during the modeling process.