Safety Aspects of Computer Control

Safety Aspects of Computer Control focuses on the increased usage of computers and safety procedures for the control of their applications.

The selection first elaborates on software in safety-related systems, regulatory issues, and legal liability. Topics cover product liability, liability under the contract law, liability under the law of negligence, methods of ensuring safety, some aspects of regulation of software safety, purpose and principles of regulation, and direct regulation. The book then examines standardization efforts worldwide; real-time software requirements specification and animation using extended Petri nets; and independent software verification and validation in practice. Discussions focus on verification and validation principles, organizational principles, specification language, extended Petri nets environment, history of software standards, and standardization work realized through ISO or IEC.

The manuscript takes a look at design and licensing of safety-related software, fault-tolerant control for safety, and use and relevance for the development of safety-critical systems. Concerns include formal methods in the safety-critical systems life cycle, random and systematic failures, hardware and systematic failures, and software quality standards.

The book is highly recommended for computer science experts and researchers interested in the safety aspects of computer control.

Preface

List of Contributors

1 Software in Safety-Related Systems: Basic Concepts and Concerns

2 Regulatory Issues

3 Legal Liability

4 Standardization Efforts Worldwide

5 Real-Time Software Requirements Specification and Animation Using Extended Petri Nets: Theory and Application

6 Independent Software Verification and Validation in Practice: Methodological and Managerial Aspects

7 Formal Methods: Use and Relevance for the Development of Safety-Critical Systems

8 Use of Ada in Safety-Critical Systems

9 Fault-Tolerant Control for Safety

10 The Problems of an Industrial Supplier - and How to Achieve Good Quality

11 Design and Licensing of Safety-Related Software

Index