Towards correct-by-construction product variants of a software product line: GFML, a formal language for feature modules

TL;DR

This paper introduces GFML, a formal language for feature modules in software product lines, enabling automatic generation and correctness proof of product variants through composition and compilation into FoCaLiZe.

Contribution

The paper presents GFML, a novel formal language for feature modules that supports reuse, composition, and automatic correctness verification of software product variants.

Findings

GFML allows writing reusable feature modules with specifications, code, and proofs.

Modules can be composed to generate new product variants.

GFML modules compile into FoCaLiZe for formal verification.

Abstract

Software Product Line Engineering (SPLE) is a software engineering paradigm that focuses on reuse and variability. Although feature-oriented programming (FOP) can implement software product line efficiently, we still need a method to generate and prove correctness of all product variants more efficiently and automatically. In this context, we propose to manipulate feature modules which contain three kinds of artifacts: specification, code and correctness proof. We depict a methodology and a platform that help the user to automatically produce correct-by-construction product variants from the related feature modules. As a first step of this project, we begin by proposing a language, GFML, allowing the developer to write such feature modules. This language is designed so that the artifacts can be easily reused and composed. GFML files contain the different artifacts mentioned above.The idea is to compile them into FoCaLiZe, a language for specification, implementation and formal proof with some object-oriented flavor. In this paper, we define and illustrate this language. We also introduce a way to compose the feature modules on some examples.