Maintaining Cross Viewpoint Consistency using Z

This paper discusses the use and integration of formal techniques, in particular Z, into the Open Distributed Processing (ODP) standardization initiative. One of the cornerstones of the ODP framework is a model of multiple viewpoints. During the development process it is important to maintain the consistency of different viewpoints of the same ODP specification. In addition, there must be some way to combine specifications from different viewpoints into a single implementation specification. The process of combining two specifications is known as unification. Unification can be used as a method by which to check consistency. This paper describes a mechanism to unify two Z specifications, and hence provide a consistency checking strategy for viewpoints written in Z.