Specification by example (SBE) is a collaborative approach to defining requirements and business-oriented functional tests for software products based on capturing and illustrating requirements using realistic examples instead of abstract statements. It is applied in the context of agile software development methods, in particular behavior-driven development. This approach is particularly successful for managing requirements and functional tests on large-scale projects of significant domain and organisational complexity.[1]
When Does a Specification Become a Program? · The Phoenix Architecture
A spec can contain prose, tests, schemas, formal models, even executable code. The useful boundary is not the syntax but, rather, what survives: if you throw the implementation away, what has to remain so you can build the next one?
When Does a Specification Become a Program? - The Phoenix Architecture
A spec can contain prose, tests, schemas, formal models, even executable code. The useful boundary is not the syntax but, rather, what survives: if you throw the implementation away, what has to remain so you can build the next one?
When Does a Specification Become a Program? - The Phoenix Architecture
A spec can contain prose, tests, schemas, formal models, even executable code. The useful boundary is not the syntax but, rather, what survives: if you throw the implementation away, what has to remain so you can build the next one?
The Specification Is Not a Document - The Phoenix Architecture
Imagine joining a software project a few years from now. It is a large, mature system. It has thousands of business rules, years of operational experience,…
Foundations of Algebraic Specification and Formal Software Development
This book provides foundations for software specification and formal software development from the perspective of work on algebraic specification, concentrating on developing basic concepts and studying their fundamental properties. These foundations are built on a solid mathematical basis, using elements of universal algebra, category theory and logic, and this mathematical toolbox provides a convenient language for precisely formulating the concepts involved in software specification and development. Once formally defined, these notions become subject to mathematical investigation, and this interplay between mathematics and software engineering yields results that are mathematically interesting, conceptually revealing, and practically useful. The theory presented by the authors has its origins in work on algebraic specifications that started in the early 1970s, and their treatment is comprehensive. This book contains five kinds of material: the requisite mathematicalfoundations; traditional algebraic specifications; elements of the theory of institutions; formal specification and development; and proof methods. While the book is self-contained, mathematical maturity and familiarity with the problems of software engineering is required; and in the examples that directly relate to programming, the authors assume acquaintance with the concepts of functional programming. The book will be of value to researchers and advanced graduate students in the areas of programming and theoretical computer science.
Semantics-Driven Development (SDD): A brief introduction
A method for building software: agree on the meaning first, write it as mathematics, and prove that the code obeys it.
Structure and Interpretation of Test Cases • Kevlin Henney • GOTO 2022
quint-co/quint
An executable specification language with delightful tooling based on the temporal logic of actions (TLA)
Inside Design Tokens: Token Specification
Design tokens become scalable when they are replicable. A token specification is a formula for achieving design tokens scalability and tools interoperability.
The semantics of clear, a specification language
This paper gives a semantics for the Clear language for specifying problems and programs, described by Burstall and Goguen in 1977. A blend of denotational semantics with categorical ideas is used.
Introduction - Rust By Example
Rust by Example (RBE) is a collection of runnable examples that illustrate various Rust concepts and standard libraries.
LLMs as Collaborators in Language Specification and Design (PLSS 2026) - SPLASH/ISSTA 2026
Workshop on Programming Language Standardization and Specification This workshop aims to foster cross-pollination between researchers and industry professionals with experience in programming language specification and standardization. It provides a forum where participants can share insights, case studies, and best practices, and collaboratively explore solutions to current challenges. The goal of the workshop is to improve the collective understanding of how programming languages are specified, standardized, and evolved in practice. The workshop examines specifications as the foundation ...
Testing functional UIs - Hayleigh Thompson | Lambda Days 2025
Laws of Software Engineering
A collection of principles and patterns that shape software systems, teams, and decisions.
Agentic manual testing - Agentic Engineering Patterns
Agentic manual testing - Agentic Engineering Patterns