Software engineering section: From specification in UML and Object-Z through refinement to implementation into java: A study on the use of inheritance

This paper provides an example that illustrates parts of the software life cycle processes of specification, refinement and implementation for the use of inheritance in an object-oriented environment. Some background on UML, Object-Z, Java and inheritance is provided, as well as short descriptions of the refinement process comprising data refinement, operation refinement and operation decomposition. Part of a software system is specified in UML and Object-Z, data and operation refined, and then implemented in Java. One of the aims of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of UML and Object-Z, or a combination of the two for the specification and refinement processes of the example. Some conclusions are drawn and suggestions for future research given.