JUCS - Journal of Universal Computer Science 7(11): 1024-1049, doi: 10.3217/jucs-007-11-1024
Formal Definition of SDL-2000 - Compiling and Running SDL Specifications as ASM Models
expand article infoRobert Eschbach‡, Uwe Glässer§, Reinhard Gotzhein|, Martin von Löwis, Andreas Prinz
‡ Department of Computer Science, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany§ Microsoft Research, Redmond, United States of America| Universität Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany¶ Department of Computer Science, Humboldt-University Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Corresponding author: Robert Eschbach ( eschbach@informatik.uni-kl.de )

© Robert Eschbach, Uwe Glässer, Reinhard Gotzhein, Martin Löwis, Andreas Prinz.
This article is freely available under the J.UCS Open Content License.
Citation: Eschbach R, Glässer U, Gotzhein R, Löwis M, Prinz A (2001) Formal Definition of SDL-2000 - Compiling and Running SDL Specifications as ASM Models. JUCS - Journal of Universal Computer Science 7(11): 1024-1049. https://doi.org/10.3217/jucs-007-11-1024
Open Access
Abstract
In November 1999, the current version of SDL (Specification and Description Language), commonly referred to as SDL-2000, has passed ITU-T, an international standardization body for telecommunication. The importance and acceptance of SDL in the telecommunication industry surpasses that of UML, which can be seen as the major competitor. A crucial difference between SDL and UML is the existence of a formal SDL semantics as part of the international standard, which has a positive impact on the quality of the entire language definition. In this paper, we treat fundamental questions concerning practicability, adequacy and maintainability of the formalization approach, provide insights into the formal semantics definition and point out several effects on the SDL standard.
Keywords
SDL, Specification and Description Language, ASM, Abstract State Machines, FDT, Formal Description Technique, Formal Semantics