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Formal Methods - Z notation

Joined
8/6/10
Messages
283
Points
38
Hi there,

I'm new to the forum but interested in the subject of Finance. I was wondering if there is much call for Formal Methods as a skill in the world of Quants? When I studied my first undergrad (Software Engineering) we did a lot of work on Set Theory, Formal Methods and Z spec/notation.

I've not seen a lot on the topic and wondered if it widespread in the banking/Finance world?

Thanks
 
Z was kind of popular 20 yearts ago as a way to make OO code more respectable. It's not used in real life I fear.

I have never heard mentioned since.
 
Oh wow Z notation, I did that at IBM labs back in the day, but as Daniel says it is rarely used in commercial programmng, and never ever in quant finance.

Quants don't do logic, I actually do a remedial lecture on logic as part of the CQF C++ module.

The idea of proving a program correct is an absurdity in finance. The average washing machine program goes through a better code QA than most code in banks.

They SDLC is this:
PhD quant does some maths, writes impressionistic code in C, using a C++ compiler.
An MFE tries to debug it. When it runs twice without crashing he gives it to
Model validation / QA who are the least paid in this cycle. MV is composed of two types, those who have a shit job that meets their personal capabilities, and those trying to get out. Those two sets intersect.
 
Thanks! Your posts always remind me that the way we do things around here isn't as f'ed up as I used to think it was.
 
DominiConnor - That sounds a hell of a lot like other areas I've worked in, within I.T as well ;).

The C++ lecture sounds interesting though!
 
I like to think my lectures are intresting, which is what you might expect from a headhunter who teaches C++ :)

The cruel and unusual mathematics is I'm told the hardest, since I explain why for the vast majority of r:
r+1 == r;

r can also == r -1, but for a different set of r

(If you can't work out why, please don't put "expert C++" on a CV you send me)


Actually, I may be doing some more of what I call "remedial computer science".
 
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