Abstract|We are exploring an approach to formally specifying and analyzing software architectures that is based on viewing software systems as chemicals whose reactions are controlled by explicitly stated rules. This powerful metaphor was devised in the domain of theoretical computer science by Banâtre and Le M etayer and then reformulated as the Chemical Abstract Machine, or CHAM, by Berry and Boudol. The CHAM formalism provides a framework for developing operational speci cations that does not bias the described system toward any particular computational model. It also encourages the construction and use of modular speci cations at di erent levels of detail. We illustrate the use of the CHAM for architectural description and analysis by applying it to two di erent architectures for a simple, but familiar, software system, the multiphase compiler. Index terms|Software architecture, chemical abstract machine, speci cation, analysis, formal methods.
Inverardi and Wolf have used the Chemical Abstract Machine [BB92] as a formal basis for architectural description REF .
Formal Specification and Analysis of Software Architectures Using the Chemical Abstract Machine Model
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
Computer Science