Z User Group

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. It was formally constituted on 14 December 1992 during the ZUM'92 Z User Meeting in London, England.

Meetings and conferences

ZUG has organised a series of Z User Meetings approximately every 18 months initially. 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.

The Z User Group participated at the ''FM'99 World Congress on Formal Methods'' in Toulouse, France, in 1999. The group and the associated Z notation have been studied as a Community of Practice.

List of proceedings

The following proceedings were produced by the Z User Group:

* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.

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:

* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.

From 2008, the ZB conferences were expanded to be the ABZ conference, also including Abstract State Machines.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.

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–)

See also

* Formal methods

References

External links

Z User Group

1992 establishments in the United Kingdom
Organizations established in 1992
Formal methods organizations
Z notation
User groups
Computer clubs in the United Kingdom

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