Formal methods reality check: industrial usage

Based on a systematic survey and analysis of the use of formal methods in the development of a dozen industrial applications, we summarize the methods being used, characterize the styles of industrial usage, and provide recommendations for evolutionary enhancements to the technology base of formal methods. The industrial applications ranged from reverse engineering to system certification; code scale ranges from 1 KLOC to 10 KLOC's. Applications included a software infrastructure for oscilloscopes; a shutdown system for a nuclear generating station; a train protection system; an airline collision avoidance system; an engine monitoring system for shipboard engines; attitude control of satellites; security properties of both a smartcard device and a network; arithmetic units; transaction processing; a real-time database for a medical instrument; and a restructuring program for COBOL