Some software makers think so, and their allies in state and federal governments would like this absolution to be written into law. Model-Based Verification BOB LANG Formal methods have long offered the promise of ensuring high quality software using mathematical rigor. Note that this issue's director s message points to one article suggesting that 40 to 50 percent of programs contain nontrivial defects.
Formal methods represent a clear attempt to address such concerns.
However, applying traditional formal methods to a complete system design requires a significant investment from learning a difficult technology to applying it in all phases of the development effort. As a result, there have been relatively few success stories, and formal methods have failed to achieve widespread adoption. MBV involves the selective use of formal methods on abstract models of important portions of a system, thereby providing many of the benefits promised by formal methods without the associated high cost. All sectors of society, from government to business to universities, increasingly depend on networks to be reliable and secure. For many e-commerce organizations, their very existence in the marketplace demands expert computer security practices.