In memoriam Jean-Raymond Abrial (on www.linkedin)

  Bertrand MeyerBertrand Meyer • 3e et +Premium • 3e et + Programmer || entrepreneur || author || language designer || researcher || software legal expertProgrammer || entrepreneur || author || language designer || researcher || software legal expert 2 mois •

 I am saddened to report (from today's print version of Le Monde) the passing away of the great French computer scientist Jean-Raymond Abrial. He is a pioneer in formal methods and their applications, particularly through three major innovations:

- The "Data Semantics" model.

- The two successive versions of the Z specification language.

- The remarkable B method and tools. One of the most spectacular achievements of practical formal methods was the groundbreaking verification of the security system of the Paris Metro's "Line 14".

A major loss for computer science.

 

Pascal Grojean • 3e et +

Associé fondateur at EMOXA

Very sad news.
JR ABRIAL was also a great creator of real time programing language. He wrote the spécification of LTRv2 in the 60s when participating in the création of the Centre de Programmation de la Marine as a young navy engineer. LTRv2 was heavily used in the 70s and the 80s to develop many real time complex information systems, military and civilian. Later at the end of the 70s he was a key participant to the « green » team of Jean Ichbiah which created ADA. Z was first developed as a way to rigorously specify ADA programs.
I worked in CPM as a Young navy engineer in the 80s but unfortunately I never met JR ABRIAL who was already a legend…. RIP JRA…

 

Jean-Louis Dufour • 3e et +

Sait-on faire du logiciel sûr ?

2 mois

<< A major loss for computer science >> : and also for software engineering. The B method is an almost unique case of a bridge between these two areas. Because Abrial was an almost unique person with one foot in each world.

Sad news. Jean-Raymond Abrial was a giant in computer science and software engineering, upon whose shoulders much of the field of formal methods still stands.  

 

Dominique Mery • 3e et +

Full Professor at TELECOM Nancy and Université de Lorraine

Thanks Bertrand for informing me. We had a full day in nantes last week for celebrating the achievement of Jean-Raymond but we did not know that he passef away the day before. A great scientist with strong ideas which will be still to pics of future researched and phd.
I Remember my visites in Marseille and our walks. In the lanes and streets in Marseille

 

 

Filippo Remedia • 3e et +

SAP ABAP Developer at SIAE MICROELETTRONICA

2 mois

sad news, with Prof. Börger they make me love formal methods

Bernhard Aichernig • 3e et +

Full Professor of Formal Methods, Johannes Kepler University Linz

2 mois

He was a true inspiration, especially to us Formal Methods researchers. He did not give up on the key ideas: Formal semantics for precise meaning, formal modelling languages for abstraction, refinement as a method, proof for highest insurance, tools to support the user, and most importantly real-world projects that speak for themselves. Jean-Raymond, we keep your ideas alive! Requiescat in pace.

 

 

Yamine Ait Ameur • 3e et +

Full Professor at INPT-ENSEEIHT

2 mois

Thank you Bertrand for sharing this information.
I have personnally learnt a lot from his inspiring work and his recommendations.
I am sad and extremely gratful to JRA. I will miss him a lot.
Next ABZ in Dusseldorf next week will pay a tribute to his memory. See you tehre for those who are particpating
Many thanks
All the best
Yamine

 

 

Karin B. • 3e et +

Leader, Independent Board Director, Author, Inventor

2 mois

A huge loss indeed...

 

Will Harwood • 3e et +

Retired

2 mois

A great man and a great loss.

 

Satish Chandra • 3e et +

Machine Learning for Developer Productivity at Google

2 mois

Sad news indeed. I had the privilege of attending a week-long seminar on the B method circa 2004. He was a wonderful teacher, with a great sense of humor and style. He had used illustrative examples from the Paris Metro system in that seminar.

 

Frank Zeyda • 3e et +

Consultant for Rigorous Engineering of Safe&Secure Systems (PhD)

2 mois

So sad to hear the news. Jean-Raymond was a true inspiration, someone with a vision not just for theory but even more so for practical application of formal methods. Perhaps thanks to his work on B I decided to do a PhD in the first place. 😢

 

 

Traian MUNTEAN • 3e et +

Honorary Prof. Computer Science (PU-CE Emeritus DHC) >HPC: co-inventor SUPERNODE(1985) reconfigurable massive parallel supercomputers >formal models for diffusive communicating systems >secure, critical systems

(modifié) 2 mois

Very sad news indeed!
I followed Jean-Raymond's seminal work from the first steps towards the introduction of Z specification language in the early 70's!
His commitment to Bourbaki's work has led to major contributions to computer science.
After Z, his contribution to the "green proposal" leading to the definition of ADA language, was an example.
At the end of 70's, being myself on leave from INRIA at the Oxford Programming Research Group, Tony Hoare asked me to suggest an "original researcher" from France he could invite for a stay at the PRG. Without hesitation, I suggested Abrial.
In contact with Hoare's CSP, his work on the B method (from Bourbaki) was done with the success we know: B book.
Later in the 1990s, he suggested to come to Marseille to collaborate with my research group on formal methods for communicating parallel systems.
Then, Atelier B from CLEARSY, after a first success for the design of the embedded software for the Meteor project with RATP-first automated metroline in Paris, was our choice to be proposed within a successful EU-FP6 project we have set up by 2000: "MATISSE - Methodologies and Technologies for Industrial Strength Systems Engineering" https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/IST-1999-11435

RIP J-R!

 

Piotr Nienaltowski • 3e et +

Shaping the future of aircraft manufacturing and sustainable aviation

2 mois

Jean-Raymond was an amazing teacher, with a great sense of humour and an infectious enthusiasm for formal methods that made his students realise proofs aren't that scary after all. A great explorer and a fantastic person to be around also outside of formal settings. Rest in peace, J-R!

 

thierry servat • 3e et +

Fondateur, Conseil. Plus les systèmes sont automatisés, plus ils se doivent d’être fiables et sûrs. J’ai créé CLEARSY pour concevoir des systèmes innovants et des outils de conception plus sûrs.

2 mois

Une intelligence rare, la volonté d’une recherche appliquée utilisable pour des grands projets industriels… des systèmes sont prouvés grâce à lui

  

 

Robert A. Meersman • 3e et +

Emeritus Professor (VU Brussel)

2 mois

A shining beacon for my own research. Thanks for sharing, Bertrand

Jean-Jacques Quisquater • 3e et +

UCLouvain: Past: blockchain, 1996: smart cards,1980: cryptography, 1977: MIT-CSAIL associate from 2004: Today: Senior Consultant (advisor) at NGRAVE

2 mois

Thanks for sharing, Bertrand. Not only a loss for computer science, a loss as a friend. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Raymond_Abrial

mohamed graiet • 3e et +

Professeur chez IBM

2 mois

Sad news he helped me a lot to learn B and Event-B

David Deharbe • 3e et +

Informaticien expert en méthodes formelles.

2 mois

Sad news. Jean-Raymond Abrial was a giant in computer science and software engineering, upon whose shoulders much of the field of formal methods still stands.

Prof. Dr. Michael Stal • 3e et +

Principal Key Expert Engineer at Siemens Foundational Technologies

2 mois

I am very sorry to hear this sad news. His work on data models was influential as well. E.g., it influenced entity-relationship models.

Karine Bezault • 3e et +

Consultante en génie logiciel, Expert Eiffel 🎯 Je vous aide à tirer le meilleur parti du langage Eiffel et du Design by Contract.

2 mois

Thank you, Bertrand, for sharing the news. This is very sad. I am lucky to have met Jean-Raymond Abrial several times and worked with him as part of my Ph.D. thesis. He was very rigorous in his research and had such good pieces of advice. He was not only a great scientist but also a very nice person to work with. I always kept in touch since then. Thanks, Jean-Raymond, for all the nice exchanges we had.

Karin B. • 3e et +

Leader, Independent Board Director, Author, Inventor

2 mois

A huge loss indeed...

Filippo Remedia • 3e et +

SAP ABAP Developer at SIAE MICROELETTRONICA

2 mois

sad news, with Prof. Börger they make me love formal methods

Jean-Louis Dufour • 3e et +

Sait-on faire du logiciel sûr ?

2 mois

<< A major loss for computer science >> : and also for software engineering. The B method is an almost unique case of a bridge between these two areas. Because Abrial was an almost unique person with one foot in each world.

christian Attiogbé • 3e et +

Full Professor at University of Nantes

2 mois

May he rest in peace!
A gentleman, free-spirited, a great scientist, enthusiastic and inspiring. Hats off to him!
I first met Jean-Raymond in Nantes in 1996.
We will miss him forever.

 

 

 

Akram Idani • 3e et +

Full Professor at Grenoble INP / UGA

2 mois

I first saw Jean-Raymond Abrial at AFADL when I was a PhD student. I was in awe of the master, the inventor of the very method I use in my work. The B method has become the backbone of the tools I develop. May he rest in peace.

  

Patrice Micouin • Abonné

Senior Consultant at Micouin Consulting

2 mois

J'ai cotoyé (un peu) JR Abrial au début des années 2000, ses travaux ensuite. C'est un exemple de rigueur et d'honnêteté intellectuelles sans compromis

 

Véronique Viguié Donzeau-Gouge • 3e et +

Professeur émérite, Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers

2 mois

I had the opportunity to work with Abrial in the late 90’s early 2000’s in particular on the automation of the Paris metro. On this occasion I was able to appreciate the intelligence and elegance of his reasoning.

His death is is sad news

 

Cyrille Artho • 3e et +

Associate Professor at KTH Royal Institute of Technology

2 mois

Sad to hear that. We use "Rodin" in our teaching, so Jean-Raymond's legacy lives on.

 

Waqas Ali • 3e et +

Lecturer l Computer Science Department, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore. Machine Reasoning/Learning Researcher

2 mois

Sad to hear. Indeed, a great loss.

 

Nicolas VACELET Phd • 3e et +

PhD in Software Engineering, Software Development Manager (Flowbird-EasyPark), and Lecturer in Algorithms, Program Complexity, and Agile Methods at the University of Franche-Comté.

2 mois

I remember the B Book, when i was student during my thesis. And some exchanges i had by email..

 

Erwan Mottin • 3e et +

C.E.O. / Directeur général. French SME recognized for delivering safety-critical systems and software (SIL1 to SIL4) across railways, defense, nuclear, and other safety-intensive industries.

2 mois

Deeply saddened by the passing of Jean-Raymond Abrial — a true pioneer of formal methods. His contributions, from Z to the B Method, shaped generations of rigorous system design. His legacy will endure.

  

Nikola Milanovic • 3e et +

CTO / COO at OPTIMAL SYSTEMS Group

2 mois

Very sad to hear this news. Much of the math for my PhD (almost) 20 years ago was based on his classic The B Book, which I sill treasure on my bookshelf.

 

Richard Paige • 3e et +

Chair and Professor, Department of Computing and Software, McMaster University

2 mois

He was teaching at Marktoberdorf in 1996 when I was a PhD student, and was trialling some of the material that eventually became The B Book. He was insightful, helpful and took my naive questions in absolutely the best way. A gentleman and a scholar.

 

Maria Husmann • 3e et +

Team lead in technology and innovation

2 mois

I remember his kindness. During an internship as a student I wrote a plugin for Rodin and he sent an email to thank me.

  

Matthias Scheller Lichtenauer • 3e et +

Entrepreneur & Research engineer

2 mois

Maria Husmann Jean Raymond Abrial was not only kind but as well humble. As an example that formal methods do not automatically lead to meaningful systems, he reminded us that to specify one should be allowed to enter a room should normally imply one should be allowed to leave it as well. He mentionned a well known public building in Paris which forgot to specify this property in the design of the access control system and staff had to patrol each room daily until an update ensuring this safety could be rolled out.

 

Eduard de Jong • 3e et +

Inventor, digital money and democracy, p2p systems and energy

2 mois

Thanks for sharing, Bertrand

 

mohamed graiet • 3e et +

Professeur chez IBM

2 mois

Sad sad sad news he helped me a lot to learn B and Event-B

 

Dominique Mery • 3e et +

Full Professor at TELECOM Nancy and Université de Lorraine

2 mois

Thanks Bertrand for informing me. We had a full day in nantes last week for celebrating the achievement of Jean-Raymond but we did not know that he passef away the day before. A great scientist with strong ideas which will be still to pics of future researched and phd.
I Remember my visites in Marseille and our walks. In the lanes and streets in Marseille.

 

Grant Olney Passmore • 3e et +

Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Imandra

(modifié) 2 mois

I was very fortunate to attend his Marktoberdorf course on Event-B when I was a PhD student. He was a wonderful person and a brilliant scientist whose deep contributions continue to reverberate.

 

Jean Rohmer • 3e et +

President at Institut Fredrik R. Bull

1 mois

Merci Bertrand Meyer . J'ai eu le bonheur de l'avoir comme professeur à l" Grenoble INP - Ensimag en 1969-1970. Cours où il nous decortiquait une de ses créations les moins connues mais peut-être la plus "basique" avant sa période "abstraite". La base de données Socrate, un bijou mélangeant élégance efficacité et facilité d'usage. Un grand monsieur à l'allure stricte et degingande qui nous impressionnait.

 

Aryldo G Russo Jr, CEng FIRSE • 3e et +

Director of Innovation

2 mois

I am very said about that. a fantastic researcher with a huge contribution to critical systems.

 

Alwyn Goodloe • 3e et +

Research Compter Engineer at NASA Langley Research Center

2 mois

I met Abrial several times going back to Zed he was someone that I thought set great example on how to design useful formal methods

  

Jonathan Bowen • 3e et +

Emeritus Professor of Computing at London South Bank University & Chairman of Museophile

2 mois

A sad loss. I just created https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_B-Book as a small tribute.

The B-Book - Wikipedia

The B-Book is a book by Jean-Raymond Abrial on the B-Method , a formal method approach to software development , originally developed by him. It was published in 1996 by Cambridge University Press . The book is available in hardback ( ISBN...

Anthony Finkelstein • 3e et +

President of City St George's, University of London

2 mois

A loss for science.

 

Gerard Le Lann • Abonné

Research Director Emeritus at Inria

2 mois

Yes indeed, very sad news!
My personal testimony in a separate post, titled EN L’HONNEUR ET EN SOUVENIR DE JEAN-RAYMOND ABRIAL.

 

Bran Selic • 3e et +

Slightly Retired Experienced Software Engineering Professional and Educator

2 mois

Sad news indeed and a true loss for our discipline. I met Jean-Raymond at Pune in India at an event organized by Tata Consultancy. He was a true gentleman.

In the Advanced Software Engineering course I gave at Monash University, we chose his Event-B approach as an introduction to formal methods.

 

Marsha Chechik • 3e et +

Professor, Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto. Chair, ACM Special Interest Group on Software Engineering. Fellow of the ACM. Associate Editor in Chief, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering

2 mois

Very sad. He was a true inspiration

 

Professor Sue Black OBE • 3e et +

Professor of Computer Science and Technology Evangelist 👩🏼‍🎓Top 20 Most Influential Person in UK Tech 🔥 International Keynote Speaker 💃🏽 Forbes World Top 50 Women in Tech 🥳

2 mois

Sad news

  

Michael Butler • 3e et +

Professor of Computer Science, Dean of Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences at University of Southampton

2 mois

This is very sad news. Jean-Raymond had a huge influence on my research and was a wonderful person to work with. Inspiring and encouraging. He will be missed.

 

Bernhard Aichernig • 3e et +

Full Professor of Formal Methods, Johannes Kepler University Linz

2 mois

He was a true inspiration, especially to us Formal Methods researchers. He did not give up on the key ideas: Formal semantics for precise meaning, formal modelling languages for abstraction, refinement as a method, proof for highest insurance, tools to support the user, and most importantly real-world projects that speak for themselves. Jean-Raymond, we keep your ideas alive! Requiescat in pace.