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: Due to COVID, the lectures will be replaced by videos.
• 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 to 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 indefinitely 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. Due to COVID, the tests will primarily take place online. If the situation permits, there will be additional exams taking place at the university. Online exams are closed-book, there are no additional resources allowed. In the case of exams at the university, students may use a print-out of the lecture presentations.
  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

18.0 h lecture videos
21.0 h exercise sheets
 6.0 h online tests
 4.0 h online meetings (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 online meetings ("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, September, January and February (for the precise dates see the section Exams). You may take the test at most twice, with the better result superseding the worse one.