Specification and semantics are two branches of theoretical computer science on which formalisms for analyzing, constructing and verifying computer software have been successfully built. Over the last few years such formal methods have been increasingly accepted and applied in practice which in turn has stimulated new efforts in research.

In this second edition of the seminar on Specification and Semantics recent scientific results and new research directions in the area of foundations, methods and applications of mathematics-based software development were discussed by more than 40 scientists. The 36 talks focussed in particular on the following topics:

• mathematical foundations of specification and semantics including models and logic calculi, concepts of category and type theory, algebraic concepts and theorem provers;
• methods of formal semantics including denotational, operational and axiomatic semantics, algebraic and categorical semantics, transition systems and term and graph rewriting;
• approaches to formal specification including abstract data types, model-oriented specification, algebraic specification, graphical specification and formal specification languages;
• formal development and verification methods including formal requirement analysis and specification, structuring and modularisation techniques, verification and validation of modules and configurations and formal aspects of reusability;
• applications of specification and semantics including description of programming languages, methods for software development, parallel and distributed systems, safety-critical systems, modeling and specification languages, data and knowledge based systems.

On behalf of all the participants the organizers would like to thank the staff of Schloß Dagstuhl for providing an excellent environment to the conference.

Creative Commons BY 3.0 DE