DISCOVERING ANOMALIES IN ACCESS MODIFIERS IN JAVA WITH A FORMAL SPECIFICATION

Abstract

We use attribute grammars to formally specify the semantics of the access modifiers in the Java language. This formal specification uncovers several situations that are irregular or counter-intuitive. These situations are confusing to the programmers and may create weaknesses in Jave program. From this exercise, we learn that a formal specification is indispensable in designing a new language.