Egon Boerger and Robert Staerk Abstract State Machines. A Method for High-Level System Design and Analysis X+438p., Hardcover, EUR 49,95 Springer-Verlag 2003, ISBN 3-540-00702-4 The systems engineering method proposed in this book, which is based on Abstract State Machines (ASMs), guides the development of software and embedded hardware-software systems seamlessly from requirements capture to actual implementation and documentation. Within a single conceptual framework it covers design, verification by reasoning techniques, and validation by simulation and testing. ASMs improve current industrial practice by using accurate high-level modeling and by linking the descriptions at the successive stages of system development in an organic and efficiently maintainable chain of rigorous and coherent system models at stepwise-refined abstraction levels. This book combines the features of a textbook and a handbook. Researchers will find here the most comprehensive description of ASMs available today and professionals will use it as a "modeling handbook for the working software engineer." As a textbook it supports self-study or it can form the basis of a lecture course. The book is complemented by a CD containing the whole book text, additional course material, solutions to exercises, and additional examples. Lecture notes and additional material are freely available at the AsmBook website http://www.di.unipi.it/AsmBook/ Contents: 1. Introduction 2. ASM Design and Analysis Method 3. Basic ASMs (Ground Model and Refinement Method) 4. Structured ASMs (Composition Techniques) 5. Synchronous Multi-Agent ASMs 6. Asynchronous Multi-Agent ASMs 7. Universal Specification and Computation Model 8. Tool Support for ASMs 9. History and Survey of ASM Research - References Please order from our web site www.springer.de, from your local bookseller, or from Springer directly. Orders can also be placed by sending an email to orders@springer.de . Shipping charges within Europe are EUR 5 per book, plus EUR 1.50 for each additional book; except Germany, Austria, Switzerland EUR 2.50 per order. Springer GmbH & Co. KG Auslieferungs-Gesellschaft Order Processing Haberstraße 7 69126 Heidelberg Germany FAX: +49-6221-345-229 See also http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/3540007024/ http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/3540007024/ http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/3540007024/