by Konstantinos Barlas1,* 
, Petros Stefaneas2
1 Department of Informatics and Computer Engineering, University of West Attica, Athens, 12243, Greece
2 School of Applied Mathematical and Physical Sciences, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, 15780, Greece
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Journal of Engineering Research and Sciences, Volume 1, Issue 5, Page # 243-250, 2022; DOI: 10.55708/js0105025
Keywords: Formal Specifications, Algebraic Specifications, Formal Methods, JSON, open standards
Received: 24 February 2022, Accepted: 01 May 2022, Published Online: 28 May 2022
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Java Script Object Notation (JSON) is an open standard data format that is used widely across the internet data due to its low overhead. While originally created in the early 2000s, it has only gained standard status in 2013 and then again in 2017 with a new version that focused more on security and interoperability. In this paper the authors present a different specification of the JSON standard that relies on algebraic formal methods and provides certain benefits over a regular natural language specification. This specification can also function as a schema that can attest a JSON data document’s compliance to its blueprint.
The absorption of Formal Specification methods by the industry happens at a very slow pace, mostly because there is little incentive to tread into a fairly unknown territory. Notwithstanding this reluctance, the authors encourage the usage of Formal Specification techniques to the specifications of open standards; Formal specifications are more succinct, less ambivalent, consistent to the standard, reusable as they support module inheritance and can be executable.
The process of designing new Standards can benefit from Formal Specifications as the resulting tangible; ii) allows a thorough and clear understanding of the standard and also allows property checking and property verification.
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