Abstract

To establish the correctness of some software w.r.t. its formal specification is widely recognized as a difficult task. A first simplification is obtained when the semantics of an algebraic specification is defined as the class of all algebras which correspond to the correct realizations of the specification. A software is then declared correct if it corresponds to some algebra of this class. We approach this goal by defining an observational satisfaction relation which is less restrictive than the usual satisfaction relation. Based on this notion we provide an institution for observational specifications. The idea is that the validity of an equational axiom should depend on an observational equality, instead of the usual equality. We show that it is not reasonable to expect an observational equality to be a congruence. We define an observational algebra as an algebra equipped with an observational equality which is an equivalence relation but not necessarily a congruence. We assume th...

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