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The CoFI Task Group on Language Design has proposed a design for CASL, the CoFI Algebraic Specification Language [LD97]. Most, but not all, of the proposed design has the general support of all the participants in the task group.This document lists particular points in the design of CASL where there are dissenting views, and support for alternative design choices.
For each separate topic of dissent, a CoFI Note of Dissent on Language Design should be provided, with the following contents:
It is recommended to submit a preliminary or draft version of the note straight away, to draw attention to the existence of the dissenting view. The full version of the note must be provided by the deadline of:
12 noon on Friday 30 May!The intention is that each available full note will be allocated a slot for presentation at the IFIP meeting, whereas other issues will be left to fend for themselves in the general discussion...
The installer of the notes encourages all authors to read the general guidelines for the formatting of CoFI documents [Mos97], and to use the provided template.
This point is so simple that it doesn't seem to warrant a separate Note: The interpretation of the acronym `CASL' might take the `C' to stand for `Common' (instead of for `CoFI'), and/or the `A' to stand for `Axiomatic' (instead of `Algebraic'). The changes that would be required in the various documents are minimal. There are arguments both for `Axiomatic':
We should avoid the danger of giving the impression that CASL is purely equational!and against:
`Algebraic' is traditional terminology also for approaches allowing full first-order logic and constraints, referring to the objects being specified rather than to abstract mathematical properties associated with algebraic equations.This seems an issue best left to IFIP WG 1.3 to decide.