Z User Group

Z User Group
Abbreviation	ZUG
Named after	Z notation
Formation	14 December 1992;31 years ago
Founder	John Nicholls
Founded at	London, England
Type	User group
Purpose	Support for Z notation activities, especially meetings
Location	Oxford , United Kingdom ;
Region served	International
Services	Conference organization
Methods	Z notation
Fields	Computer science, software engineering, formal methods
Official language	English
Chair	Steve Reeves
Secretary	Randolph Johnson
Key people	John Nicholls; Jonathan Bowen; Mike Hinchey; Steve King
Main organ	Conference proceedings
Affiliations	Formal Methods Europe
Website	zuser.org

Last updated January 29, 2024

The Z User Group (ZUG) was established in 1992 to promote use and development of the Z notation, a formal specification language for the description of and reasoning about computer-based systems.^[3]^[4]^[5] It was formally constituted on 14 December 1992 during the ZUM'92 Z User Meeting^[6] in London, England.^[7]

Meetings and conferences

ZUG has organised a series of Z User Meetings approximately every 18 months initially.^[8]^[6]^[9] From 2000, these became the ZB Conference (jointly with the B-Method, co-organized with APCB), and from 2008 the ABZ Conference (with abstract state machines as well). In 2010, the ABZ Conference also includes Alloy, a Z-like specification language with associated tool support.^[10]

The Z User Group participated at the FM'99 World Congress on Formal Methods in Toulouse, France, in 1999.^[11] The group and the associated Z notation have been studied as a community of practice.^[12]

List of proceedings

The following proceedings were produced by the Z User Group:^[13]^[14]

Bowen, J.P.; Nicholls, J.E., eds. (1993). Z User Workshop, London 1992, Proceedings of the Seventh Annual Z User Meeting, 14–15 December 1992. Springer, Workshops in Computing. ISBN 978-0387198187
Bowen, J.P.; Hall, J.A., eds. (1994). Z User Workshop, Cambridge 1994, Proceedings of the Eighth Annual Z User Meeting, 29–30 June 1994. Springer, Workshops in Computing. ISBN 978-3540198840
Bowen, J.P.; Hinchey, M.G, eds. (1995). ZUM '95: The Z Formal Specification Notation, 9th International Conference of Z Users, Limerick, Ireland, September 7–9, 1995. Springer, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Volume 967. ISBN 978-3540602712
Bowen, J.P.; Hinchey, M.G.; Till, D., eds. (1997). ZUM '97: The Z Formal Specification Notation, 10th International Conference of Z Users, Reading, UK, April 3–4, 1997. Springer, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Volume 1212. ISBN 978-3540627173
Bowen, J.P.; Fett, A.; Hinchey, M.G., eds. (1998). ZUM '98: The Z Formal Specification Notation, 11th International Conference of Z Users, Berlin, Germany, September 24–26, 1998. Springer, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Volume 1493. ISBN 978-3540650706

The following ZB conference proceedings were jointly produced with the Association de Pilotage des Conférences B (APCB), covering the Z notation and the related B-Method:^[13]

Bowen, J.P.; Dunne, S.; Galloway, A.; King. S., eds. (2000). ZB 2000: Formal Specification and Development in Z and B, First International Conference of B and Z Users, York, UK, August 29 – September 2, 2000. Springer, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Volume 1878. ISBN 978-3540679448
Bert, D.; Bowen, J.P.; Henson, M.C.; Robinson, K., eds. (2002). ZB 2002: Formal Specification and Development in Z and B: 2nd International Conference of B and Z Users Grenoble, France, January 23–25, 2002. Springer, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Volume 2272. ISBN 978-3540431664
Bert, D.; Bowen, J.P.; King, S.; Walden, M., eds. (2003). ZB 2003: Formal Specification and Development in Z and B: Third International Conference of B and Z Users, Turku, Finland, June 4–6, 2003. Springer, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Volume 2651. ISBN 978-3540402534
Treharne, H.; King, S.; Henson, M.C.; Schneider, S., eds. (2005). ZB 2005: Formal Specification and Development in Z and B: 4th International Conference of B and Z Users, Guildford, UK, April 13–15, 2005. Springer, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Volume 3455. ISBN 978-3540255598

From 2008, the ZB conferences were expanded to be the ABZ conference, also including abstract state machines.^[15]

Chair and secretary

Successive chairs have been:

John Nicholls (1992–1994)
Jonathan Bowen (1994–2011)
Steve Reeves (2011–)

Successive secretaries have been:

Mike Hinchey (1994–2011)
Randolph Johnson (2011–)

Related Research Articles

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In computer science, formal methods are mathematically rigorous techniques for the specification, development, analysis, and verification of software and hardware systems. The use of formal methods for software and hardware design is motivated by the expectation that, as in other engineering disciplines, performing appropriate mathematical analysis can contribute to the reliability and robustness of a design.

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References

↑ Sayeed, Ahmed (2021). Abbreviations. Sankalp Publication. p. 371. ISBN 978-9390636693.
↑ Yearbook of International Organizations. Vol. 1. Union of International Associations. 2017.
↑ Bowen, J.P. (September 1993). "Z User Group activities". JFIT News. 46: 5.
↑ Bowen, J.P. (1994). "Z User Meeting Activities". High Integrity Systems. 1 (1): 93–94.
↑ Tucker, Allen B., ed. (2004). Computer Science Handbook. CRC Press. pp. 106–24. ISBN 978-0203494455.
1 2 Bowen, J.P.; Nicholls, J.E., eds. (1993). Z User Workshop, London 1992. Workshops in Computing. Springer.
↑ "Z User Group (ZUG)". Global Civil Society Database. UIA . Retrieved 8 June 2022.
↑ Nicholls, J.E., ed. (1992). Z User Workshop, York 1991. Workshops in Computing. Springer.
↑ Bowen, J.P.; Hall, J.A., eds. (1994). Z User Workshop, Cambridge 1994. Workshops in Computing. Springer. ISBN 3-540-19884-9.
↑ Frappier, M., Glässer, U.; Khurshid, S., Laleau, R., and Reeves, S. (eds.), Abstract State Machines, Alloy, B and Z: Second International Conference, ABZ 2010, Orford, QC, Canada, February 22–25, 2010, Proceedings , Springer-Verlag, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Volume 5977, 2010. ISBN 978-3-642-11810-4.
↑ "Z User Group Meeting (ZUG)". FM'99 World Congress. Toulouse, France. 20–24 September 1999. Archived from the original on 6 July 2007.
↑ Bowen, J.P.; Reeves, S. (2011). "From a Community of Practice to a Body of Knowledge: A Case Study of the Formal Methods Community". In Butler, M.; Schulte, W. (eds.). FM 2011: Formal Methods. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Vol. 6664. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer. pp. 308–322. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-21437-0_24.
1 2 "International Conference on Abstract State Machines, Alloy, B, TLA, VDM, and Z (ABZ) – International Conference of B and Z Users (ZB) – International Z User Meeting (ZUM) – Z User Workshop". DBLP . Retrieved 28 July 2022.
↑ Bowen, Jonathan (July 2022). "The Z User Group: Thirty Years After" (PDF). FACS FACTS . No. 2022–2. BCS-FACS. pp. 50–56. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
↑ Börger, E.; Butler, M.J.; Bowen, J.P.; Boca, P., eds. (2008). Abstract State Machines, B and Z, First International Conference, ABZ 2008, London, UK, September 16–18, 2008. Springer, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Volume 5238. ISBN 978-3540876021

External links

Z User Group

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[1] Sayeed, Ahmed (2021). Abbreviations. Sankalp Publication. p. 371. ISBN 978-9390636693.

[2] Yearbook of International Organizations. Vol. 1. Union of International Associations. 2017.

[JFIT93-3] Bowen, J.P. (September 1993). "Z User Group activities". JFIT News. 46: 5.

[HIS94-4] Bowen, J.P. (1994). "Z User Meeting Activities". High Integrity Systems. 1 (1): 93–94.

[5] Tucker, Allen B., ed. (2004). Computer Science Handbook. CRC Press. pp. 106–24. ISBN 978-0203494455.

[ZUM92-6] 1 2 Bowen, J.P.; Nicholls, J.E., eds. (1993). Z User Workshop, London 1992. Workshops in Computing. Springer.

[7] "Z User Group (ZUG)". Global Civil Society Database. UIA . Retrieved 8 June 2022.

[ZUM91-8] Nicholls, J.E., ed. (1992). Z User Workshop, York 1991. Workshops in Computing. Springer.

[ZUM94-9] Bowen, J.P.; Hall, J.A., eds. (1994). Z User Workshop, Cambridge 1994. Workshops in Computing. Springer. ISBN 3-540-19884-9.

[10] Frappier, M., Glässer, U.; Khurshid, S., Laleau, R., and Reeves, S. (eds.), Abstract State Machines, Alloy, B and Z: Second International Conference, ABZ 2010, Orford, QC, Canada, February 22–25, 2010, Proceedings , Springer-Verlag, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Volume 5977, 2010. ISBN 978-3-642-11810-4.

[FM99-11] "Z User Group Meeting (ZUG)". FM'99 World Congress. Toulouse, France. 20–24 September 1999. Archived from the original on 6 July 2007.

[12] Bowen, J.P.; Reeves, S. (2011). "From a Community of Practice to a Body of Knowledge: A Case Study of the Formal Methods Community". In Butler, M.; Schulte, W. (eds.). FM 2011: Formal Methods. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Vol. 6664. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer. pp. 308–322. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-21437-0_24.

[dblp-13] 1 2 "International Conference on Abstract State Machines, Alloy, B, TLA, VDM, and Z (ABZ) – International Conference of B and Z Users (ZB) – International Z User Meeting (ZUM) – Z User Workshop". DBLP . Retrieved 28 July 2022.

[zug22-14] Bowen, Jonathan (July 2022). "The Z User Group: Thirty Years After" (PDF). FACS FACTS . No. 2022–2. BCS-FACS. pp. 50–56. Retrieved 3 August 2022.

[15] Börger, E.; Butler, M.J.; Bowen, J.P.; Boca, P., eds. (2008). Abstract State Machines, B and Z, First International Conference, ABZ 2008, London, UK, September 16–18, 2008. Springer, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Volume 5238. ISBN 978-3540876021

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