Use of a functional programming language for formal specification

The use of a functional programming language (FPL) for writing formal specifications has been investigated as part of a collaborative research project, SADLI, partially funded by the Department of Trade and Industry under the aegis of the IED Safety Critical Systems programme. The three partners were The Centre for Software Engineering Ltd. (CSE), Cambridge Consultants Ltd. (CCL) and the Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit (HGU). The objective of the project was to implement a demonstration imaging system in diagnostic microscopy using functional programming under the discipline of a safety critical methodology in order to determine the benefits and constraints that arise from so doing. One of the aims of the project was to experiment with the use of functional languages for formal specification