After successful completion of the course, students are able to explain the most important methods of formal specification and to use them for modeling situations informally described in natural language. They know the expressivity and limitations of the methods and are able to select methods suitable for the problem at hand. Moreover, students are able to read and understand mathematical notations, in particular the formal definition of the methods as used in literature.

Textual specification languagse:

• Propositional logic
• Predicate logic
• Regular expressions
• Context-free grammars

Graphical specification languages:  

• Finite-state machines (automata)
• Petri nets

For each of these modeling languages we discuss the following aspects:  

• Syntax: What are the admissible utterances of the language?
• Semantics: What is the meaning of admissible utterances?
• Expressive power: Which situations can be expressed adequately, which cannot?
• Applications: How is the language used to model concrete situations

• Plenary lectures: The meetings in the lecture room will be used to discuss questions by the students, to present selected topics, and to solve exercises together. The students are expected to prepare for the lectures by viewing designated videos and reading documents provided by the lecture team.
• TUWEL: The e-learning platform of TU Wien is used for the dissemination of lecture material and for organizational issues. Furthermore it provides a news forum and a discussion forum  that allows the students to discuss problems related to the contents or the organization of the course.
• 2 exercise sheets: Twice per term the students have to submit the solutions of 15 exercises. After the deadline they receive sample solutions as well as individual feedback on their submissions. The score depends only on the number of exercises tried, not on the quality of solutions.
• Online tests: Each test can be repeated arbitrarily often within the period of a week.
• 2 oral exams: After each exercise sheet, the students discuss the topics in small groups with staff personnel.
• Final test: At the end of the course, a written test of 90 minutes checks how well the students have achieved the learning outcomes of the course. The test takes place in rooms at the university. During the exam, the students may use print-outs of selected documents.

Due to COVID the modalities of the course may change on short notice. If necessary, the final test will take place online. Online exams are closed-book, there are no additional resources allowed. Hardware requirements for online exams: quiet, bright working place; webcam showing the complete working space; scanner (like an app on the mobile phone, which in this case cannot serve as webcam); computer with stable internet connectivity and audio (e.g. headset); screen or printer for viewing/printing the assignments. For the details, see TUWEL.

Ects Breakdown

14.0 h preparation at home with videos and documents
14.0 h presentations/exercises in the lecture hall
15.0 h exercise sheets
 4.0 h online tests
 2.0 h oral exams (Abgabegespräche)
24.0 h preparation for final test
 2.0 h final test
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75.0 h = 3 Ects

The final grade is determined on the basis of  the submitted exercises (10 points in total), two oral exams ("Abgabegespräch", 5 points each), the online tests (10 points in total) and the written final test (50 points), giving a grand total of 80 points.  To pass the course you need at least 25 points at the final test and at least 40 points in total. Positive grades are determined from the sum of points according to the following scale:

• 40-49 points: passed (4)
• 50-59 points: satisfactory (3)
• 60-69 points: good (2)
• 70-80 points: excellent (1)

We offer four dates to take the final exam, presumably in June, beginning of October, end of November, and mid of January  (for the precise dates see the section Exams). You may take the test at most twice, with the better result counted for the final mark.