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Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Subject: Re: Generating Ada from UML on Linux
References: <87ejvs6fj6.fsf@nbi.dk>
 <20060809130000.J84175@docenti.ing.unipi.it>
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From: Stephen Leake <stephen_leake@acm.org>
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2006 08:07:05 -0400
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Date: 2006-08-12T08:07:05-04:00
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Jacob Sparre Andersen <sparre@nbi.dk> writes:

> Colin Paul Gloster wrote:
>> Jacob Sparre Andersen wrote:
>>
>> "I have to teach a course on software design with UML [..]
>>
>> [..]"
>
>> Perhaps you should refuse to teach an inadequate modeling language
>> which is not a formal specification language.
>
> Perhaps I should, but initially I am just refusing to teach the
> students Java.  And they will of course also be explained the
> limitations of UML.
>
> Which formal specification language would you suggest for teaching
> undergraduate students?  

In no sense is UML a "formal specification language"!

Ada is a better specification language than UML, if you are looking
for well-defined execution semantics.

As far as I can tell, the only advantage UML has over Ada is that you
can write it with a mouse - and personally, I consider that a
disadvantage :).

> I am open to suggestions. Formal specifications is not exactly my
> primary expertice. I can easily see that UML is much too weak,
> compared to what we can implement in Ada, but I am not aware of any
> more practical choices.

I understand there are good tools for Z (much better than just LaTeX),
but I have not used them.

-- 
-- Stephe