The Tabular Method for Relational Documentation

The basic mathematical laws of relations can be presented and verified using compact abstract notation. However, descriptions of specific relations, such as those that arise in describing software, must be done in terms of a a state representation. When conventional notation is used, the expressions can be complex and hard to use. This tutorial presented and explained tabular notation that has been found useful in practical software development. It also described a set of prototype tools that make it easier to apply relational methods in software development.