High Assurance Software Systems
I.-R. Chen · The Computer Journal · 2006
The last few decades are marked by an unprecedented increase in the complexity and consequence of information technology systems. High assurance software systems must satisfy basic functional service properties that the system intends to deliver, as well as guarantee desirable system properties such as security, safety, timeliness and reliability. Examples of high assurance software systems include command and control systems, nuclear power plants, electronic banking, aerospace systems, automated manufacturing and medical systems. One of the major challenges in high assurance software engineering is to develop well-founded methods for system construction, verification and validation, so they provide critical services with a high degree of confidence in their correctness and quality. The goal of the special issue is to bring together innovative research ideas and advances in the field of high assurance software systems to address these challenges. To this end, the guest editors invited six papers published in the 29th IEEE Annual International Computer Software and Applications Conference (COMPSAC 2005) in the conference theme of High Assurance Software Systems to submit to this special issue, from which four papers after a rigorous review process have been selected to appear in the special issue.