Formal Specification Languages vs Natural Language Specifications

Developers should learn formal specification languages when working on high-assurance systems where correctness is paramount, such as in avionics, automotive software, or cryptographic protocols meets developers should learn and use natural language specifications when working on projects that require close collaboration with business analysts, product managers, or clients to ensure requirements are accurately captured and implemented. Here's our take.

Formal Specification Languages

Nice Pick

Developers should learn formal specification languages when working on high-assurance systems where correctness is paramount, such as in avionics, automotive software, or cryptographic protocols

Pros

• They are valuable for specifying complex algorithms, verifying security properties, and facilitating formal methods like model checking or theorem proving to detect design flaws early in the development lifecycle
• Related to: model-checking, theorem-proving

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Natural Language Specifications

Developers should learn and use Natural Language Specifications when working on projects that require close collaboration with business analysts, product managers, or clients to ensure requirements are accurately captured and implemented

Pros

• It is particularly valuable in agile environments for defining user stories, acceptance criteria, and automated tests, as it helps prevent scope creep and improves software quality by making specifications testable and verifiable
• Related to: behavior-driven-development, test-driven-development

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. Formal Specification Languages is a concept while Natural Language Specifications is a methodology. We picked Formal Specification Languages based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

Formal Specification Languages wins

Based on overall popularity. Formal Specification Languages is more widely used, but Natural Language Specifications excels in its own space.