Jim Woodcock
Encyclopedia
Professor Jim C. P. Woodcock FRSA FBCS
FREng is a British computer scientist
.
Woodcock gained his PhD
from the University of Liverpool
. Until 2001 he was Professor of Software Engineering
at the Oxford University Computing Laboratory
, where he was also a Fellow of Kellogg College
. He then joined the University of Kent
and is now based at the University of York
.
His research interests include: strong software engineering
, Grand Challenge in dependable
systems evolution, unifying theories of programming
, formal specification
, refinement
, concurrency
, state-rich systems, mobile
and reconfigurable
processes, nanotechnology
, Grand Challenge in the railway domain. He has a background in formal methods
, especially the Z notation
and CSP
.
Woodcock worked on applying the Z notation to the IBM
CICS
project, helping to gain a Queen's Award
for Technological Achievement, and Mondex
, helping to gain the highest ITSEC
classification level.
FBCS
FBCS is an abbreviation for Fellow of the British Computer Society . This is the most senior professional grade in the BCS. It is available to applicants with a minimum of five years of Information Technology experience in a senior IT position or who have an established eminent or authoritative...
FREng is a British computer scientist
Computer scientist
A computer scientist is a scientist who has acquired knowledge of computer science, the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their application in computer systems....
.
Woodcock gained his PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the University of Liverpool
University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
. Until 2001 he was Professor of Software Engineering
Software engineering
Software Engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software...
at the Oxford University Computing Laboratory
Oxford University Computing Laboratory
The Department of Computer Science, until 2011 named the Computing Laboratory , is a department of Oxford University in England...
, where he was also a Fellow of Kellogg College
Kellogg College, Oxford
Kellogg College is one of the largest and most international graduate constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Kellogg College is a graduate college and admissions are not open to undergraduates. The college focuses on the concept of higher, postgraduate and lifelong learning...
. He then joined the University of Kent
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
and is now based at the University of York
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
.
His research interests include: strong software engineering
Software engineering
Software Engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software...
, Grand Challenge in dependable
Dependability
Dependability is a value showing the reliability of a person to others because of his/her integrity, truthfulness, and trustfulness, traits that can encourage someone to depend on him/her.The wider use of this noun is in Systems engineering....
systems evolution, unifying theories of programming
Unifying Theories of Programming
Unifying Theories of Programming deals with program semantics. It shows how denotational semantics, operational semantics and algebraic semantics can be combined in a unified framework for the formal specification, design and implementation of programs and computer systems.The book of this title by...
, formal specification
Formal specification
In computer science, a formal specification is a mathematical description of software or hardware that may be used to develop an implementation. It describes what the system should do, not how the system should do it...
, refinement
Refinement
In formal methods, program refinement is the verifiable transformation of an abstract formal specification into a concrete executable program. Stepwise refinement allows this process to be done in stages...
, concurrency
Concurrency (computer science)
In computer science, concurrency is a property of systems in which several computations are executing simultaneously, and potentially interacting with each other...
, state-rich systems, mobile
Mobile computing
Mobile computing is a form of human–computer interaction by which a computer is expected to be transported during normal usage. Mobile computing has three aspects: mobile communication, mobile hardware, and mobile software...
and reconfigurable
Reconfigurable computing
Reconfigurable computing is a computer architecture combining some of the flexibility of software with the high performance of hardware by processing with very flexible high speed computing fabrics like field-programmable gate arrays...
processes, nanotechnology
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
, Grand Challenge in the railway domain. He has a background in formal methods
Formal methods
In computer science and software engineering, formal methods are a particular kind of mathematically-based techniques for the specification, development and verification of software and hardware systems...
, especially the Z notation
Z notation
The Z notation , named after Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory, is a formal specification language used for describing and modelling computing systems. It is targeted at the clear specification of computer programs and computer-based systems in general.-History:...
and CSP
Communicating sequential processes
In computer science, Communicating Sequential Processes is a formal language for describing patterns of interaction in concurrent systems. It is a member of the family of mathematical theories of concurrency known as process algebras, or process calculi...
.
Woodcock worked on applying the Z notation to the IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
CICS
CICS
Customer Information Control System is a transaction server that runs primarily on IBM mainframe systems under z/OS and z/VSE.CICS is a transaction manager designed for rapid, high-volume online processing. This processing is mostly interactive , but background transactions are possible...
project, helping to gain a Queen's Award
Queen's Award
Queen's Award can refer to:* The Queen's Awards for Enterprise, formerly The Queens Awards to Industry.* The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service* The Queen's Award for Forestry* The Queen's Award for Services in the Community...
for Technological Achievement, and Mondex
Mondex
Mondex is a smart card electronic cash system which was originally developed by National Westminster Bank in the United Kingdom and subsequently sold to MasterCard International. Mondex launched in a number of markets during the 1990s, expanding from an original trial in Swindon, UK to Hong Kong,...
, helping to gain the highest ITSEC
ITSEC
The Information Technology Security Evaluation Criteria is a structured set of criteria for evaluating computer security within products and systems. The ITSEC was first published in May 1990 in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom based on existing work in their respective...
classification level.
Books
- Jim Woodcock and Jim DaviesJim Davies (computer scientist)Jim Davies is Professor of Software Engineering and current Director of the Software Engineering Programme at the University of Oxford, England.- Biography :...
, Using Z: Specification, Refinement, and Proof. Prentice-Hall International Series in Computer Science, 1996. ISBN 978-0139484728. - Jim Woodcock and Martin Loomes, Software Engineering Mathematics: Formal Methods Demystified. Kindle Edition, Taylor & FrancisTaylor & FrancisTaylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in the United Kingdom which publishes books and academic journals. It is a division of Informa plc, a United Kingdom-based publisher and conference company.- Overview :...
, 2007.