Basically, an abstraction is an idea reduced to its essential form. The author introduces the key elements of the approach: a logic, which provides the building blocks of the language; a language, which adds a small amount of syntax to the logic for structuring descriptions; and an analysis, which is a form of constraint solving, and it offers both simulation (generating sample states and executions) and checking (finding counterexamples to claimed properties). The author uses the language Alloy as a vehicle because of its simplicity and tool support; but the book’s lessons are mostly language-independent, and could also be applied in the context of other modeling languages.

“Abstraction is the essence of simple and effective software design, and logic is the essential tool for exploring and validating abstractions. These basic insights, which have been laboriously rediscovered by many practicing programmers, are now accessible to students and professionals at all levels of experience. Daniel Jackson supports his clear and elegant text with a powerful logical analysis tool that brings his witty examples to life.”