B-Method

VL2 — Formal Methods
Z notation
B User Group

This document contains some pointers to information relating to the B-Method↑, and its associated tool support, available around the world on the World Wide Web (WWW).

Please add or correct information below. Alternatively, please contact Jonathan Bowen if you know of relevant online information not included here or would like to maintain information on a particular topic.

Next conference: ABZ 2010, Orford, Quebec↑, Canada↑, 23–25 February 2010.

Last B conference: B2007, 7th International B Conference, LIFC, Besancon, France, 17–19 January 2007
Last ZB conference: ZB2005, University of Surrey, UK, 13–15 April 2005

The B-Method has been developed by Jean-Raymond Abrial — also originator of the Z notation — and others. B is a formal method for the development of program code from a specification in the Abstract Machine Notation. It includes tool support and has been used in some significant industrial applications (e.g., by GEC Alsthom).

Online resources

B User Group (BUG). Note: Activities have officially ceased since March 2000.: See also BUG phone book

Contact Georges Mariano for further BUG information.

Atelier-B, France.: B software development environment. See the boiler case study.

Information also available in French. See La Lettre B newsletter.

B-Core (UK) Limited, UK.: Markets the B-Toolkit.
Teesside B-Resource.: Provides much on-line information concerning B, including information on the various B-Technologies

A mailing list for discussion about B has been established. Send an email message containing "subscribe b-talk" to b-talk-request@tees.ac.uk to join.

Grenoble B Site.: Includes Actualités de B / B News, books, tools, projects, industrial and academic information, B Working Group, FAQ and links. Information in French and English. An excellent resource!

Publications

Bibliographies

See the definitive B bibliography. A searchable version is also available as part of the excellent Collection of Computer Science Bibliographies. The bibliography is in BibTeX format suitable for use with the LaTeX document preparation system.

Books

The following definitive book on B is available:

The B-Book: Assigning Programs to Meanings, J.-R. Abrial, Cambridge University Press, 1996. ISBN 0-521-49619-5. 850 pages. UK Price UK£40.00.

Contents: Mathematical reasoning; Set notation; Mathematical objects; Introduction to abstract machines; Formal definition of abstract machines; Theory of abstract machines; Construction large abstract machines; Example of abstract machines; Sequencing and loop; Programming examples; Refinement; Construction large software systems; Example of refinement;
Appendices: Summary of the most current notations; Syntax; Definitions; Visibility rules; Rules and axioms; Proof obligations.

Book reviews:

- Jonathan Bowen: B-hold the Future of Software Development. The Times Higher Education Supplement, Multimedia computer books, 1267:30, 14 February 1997.
- Michael Butler: Book Review, The Computer Journal, 40(1):59-61, 1997.

Tool support

The B-Tool is a language interpreter and a run-time environment for supporting B. The B-Toolkit is a set of integrated tools which fully supports the B-Method for formal software development, built on top of the B-Tool. These tools are available from B-Core (UK) Limited, UK. For further details, contact Ib Sørensen on b@b-core.com.

Atelier B, a tool supporting the Abstract Machine Notation (AMN), is available under licence. from ClearSy, France. Features include syntax, type and static semantics checking, proof support, refinement, a graphical interface and pretty-printing. An animator is planned. Test case generation is not supported. Contact Thierry Lecomte on contact@clearsy.com (tel: +33 4 42 37 12 70, fax: +33 4 42 37 12 71).

Further information: Atelier B is composed of a complete set of integrated tools enabling the development of applications using the method invented by Jean-Raymond Abrial, the B-Method. Atelier B assists developers in the formalization of their aplications, performing automatically on specifications and their refinements, syntax analysis, type checking, generation and demonstration of proof obligations. Extra components are supplied such as translators into current computer programming languages (C, Ada, ...), a mathematical editor, libraries of predefined machines and various project analysis tools. Access to Atelier B software tools is by a graphical MOTIF interface or by a batch language; in each mode it manages multi-users projects. Atelier B has been designed by Digilog and GEC Alsthom Transport in close collaboration with Jean-Raymond Abrial. The first version of Atelier B will be upgraded in 1995 with an animator of specifications, a new generation of prover, a powerful project documentation generator and various interfaces with standard tools ([news:comp.text.sgml SGML], Interleaf, …). Atelier B is sponsored by RATP, SNCF and INRETS and developed with their technical co-operation.

The B modeling environment B4free has been released and is now freely accessible to academics. B4free is a set of tools for the development of B models and for creation of user tools. The principal tool (bbatch) manages B projects. The Logic Solver (krt) is a compiler-interpreter for the Theory Language. All these tools are used in batch mode. A graphical interface, based on B4free and developed by Jean-Raymond Abrial and Dominique Cansell, is also available on the Click'n'Prove page.

Projects

Brillant open source project. B: Recherches et Innovation à L'aide de Nouvelles Technologies.
EU IST MATISSE Project (2000-2003): Methodologies and Technologies for Industrial Strength Systems Engineering. Industrial case studies using B.
EU IST PUSSEE project: Paradigm Unifying System Specification Environments for proven Electronic design.
EU IST RODIN Project (2004–2007): Rigorous Open Development Environment for Complex Systems. See also RODIN B Sharp and SourceForge project information,
B User Trials (BUT) project and the MaFMeth Project (also supporting VDM-SL) at RAL and elsewhere in the UK, investigated the use of B.

Meetings

The International B Conference Steering Committee (Association de Pilotage des Conférences B — APCB) organizes the International B Conference:

1st B Conference, Nantes, France, 25–27 November 1996.
B'98: 2nd International B Conference, Montpellier, France, 22-24 April 1998.
See photographs.
FM'99: B-Method mini-track and User Group Meeting, Toulouse, France, 20–24 September 1999.
ZB2000: International Conference of B and Z Users, York, UK, 28 August – 2 September 2000.
ZB2002: International Conference of B and Z Users, Grenoble, France, 23–25 January 2002.
The local organizer was Didier Bert of the Laboratoire Logiciels Systèmes Réseaux (LSR), Instutute IMAG, Grenoble, who supported the event.
One Day Workshop on B, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK, 14 July 2003. (See also 10 January 2002 event.)
ZB2003, Turku, Finland, 4-6 June 2003.
ZB2005, University of Surrey, UK, 13–-15 April 2005. With cooperation between APCB and ZUG.