Adequacy of contract grammars for component certification

Overview & Synopsis

The use of contracts in component-based development is a well-established approach. However there exists a wide range of views as to the nature of the contracts that are necessary to support safety-critical systems development, assurance and certification. Different standards and projects have tried to reduce ambiguity and propose the best practice in this area. In this paper we present work that moves one step further forward with the creation of a methodology and grammar that incorporates encompasses and helps structure current models of 'safety contracts'.