1 Introduction
Software specification and verification are fundamental to ensuring the correctness, reliability, and security of modern software systems. As software increasingly underpins safety-critical, distributed, and socially impactful applications, challenges related to complexity, scalability, and emerging computational paradigms demand new approaches. Formal methods, automated analysis tools, and modular verification frameworks are essential to detect errors, prevent vulnerabilities, and guarantee compliance with functional and non-functional requirements. This Research Topic collects contributions that advance both foundational and applied aspects of software specification and verification, spanning static and dynamic analysis, collaborative modeling, agent systems, and blockchain-based smart contracts, while addressing emerging domains such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and distributed computing.
2 An application layer with protocol-based java smart contract verification
Olivieri et al. presents a framework for mandatory, protocol-based verification of smart contracts written in the Takamaka subset of Java, ensuring that only safe and compliant contracts are executed on the blockchain. By integrating verification rules directly into the consensus protocol, the approach enforces correctness off-chain and on-chain, preventing potentially harmful executions and enhancing network security. The study demonstrates a practical implementation on Tendermint-based consensus engines and highlights the feasibility, performance considerations, and limitations of enforcing protocol-level verification in blockchain environments.
3 Correct implementation of agent interaction protocols
Bergenti et al. addresses the challenge of ensuring correct behavior in distributed agent systems that communicate via asynchronous message exchanges. Leveraging Multiparty Session Types (MPST), the study formally specifies global interaction protocols and derives local implementations that guarantee protocol compliance. The approach, demonstrated through a Jadescript-based prototype targeting the JADE platform, exemplifies how formal specification and verification can be applied to complex, distributed, and concurrent software systems.
4 Input parameters authentication through dynamic software watermarking
Gort introduces a dynamic software watermarking technique aimed at authenticating input parameters in software functions to ensure integrity and trustworthiness of computation. The proposed approach operates transparently, without altering program functionality, and remains robust against code optimization, obfuscation, and transformation. By addressing input integrity in modern service-oriented and microservice-based systems, the work contributes to practical verification mechanisms for security-critical software environments.
5 A dual perspective review on large language models and code verification
Dolcetti and Lotti provide a comprehensive overview of the emerging interplay between large language models (LLMs) and software verification, examining both the use of LLMs as verification aids and the verification of code generated by LLMs. By analyzing hybrid approaches that combine prompt-based techniques with traditional static analysis and formal verification tools, the article highlights current capabilities, limitations, and open challenges. The work positions LLMs as a promising yet complementary component within modern verification workflows, particularly in the context of automation and emerging AI-driven software ecosystems.
6 A configurable approach for intra-model inconsistency management in multi-view collaborative modeling
Alsharuee et al. addresses the challenge of managing intra-model inconsistencies arising in real-time, multi-view collaborative modeling environments. Building on Model-Driven Engineering principles, the proposed COMIM framework introduces incremental consistency checking and configurable repair strategies that account for collaborative dynamics, ownership, and interaction modes. The approach demonstrates how scalable and automated inconsistency management can be effectively integrated into modern, collaborative software development workflows.
7 Whole-value analysis by Abstract Interpretation
Negrini addresses the problem of value analysis from a unified perspective by proposing a modular framework based on Abstract Interpretation that combines numerical analyses, string analyses, and other value domains. By enabling information exchange through abstract constraints that are independent of specific domains, the approach preserves soundness across different domain combinations and facilitates experimentation and comparison of heterogeneous analyses. The proposed framework enhances the scalability, modularity, and reusability of static analysis tools, aligning well with the needs of modern software verification ecosystems.
8 Conclusion
This Research Topic demonstrates the breadth and depth of current advances in software specification and verification, spanning formal methods, static and dynamic analysis, collaborative modeling, agent systems, and blockchain-based smart contracts. The collected contributions highlight the importance of scalable, modular, and practical approaches that can be applied across diverse domains, from AI-driven software and distributed systems to mission-critical and safety-sensitive applications. Together, they illustrate how combining theoretical rigor with real-world applicability enables more reliable and secure software. Looking forward, integrating emerging technologies such as AI, quantum computing, and IoT into verification workflows remains a promising direction, fostering more robust, adaptive, and trustworthy software ecosystems.
Statements
Author contributions
VA: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft. NC: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft. AC: Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. ND: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft.
Conflict of interest
The author(s) declared that this work was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Generative AI statement
The author(s) declared that generative AI was not used in the creation of this manuscript.
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Publisher’s note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Summary
Keywords
Abstract Interpretation, blockchain, distributed agent systems, Software specification, software verification, software watermarking
Citation
Arceri V, Chaki N, Cortesi A and Deb N (2026) Editorial: Software specification and verification: models and tools. Front. Comput. Sci. 8:1845840. doi: 10.3389/fcomp.2026.1845840
Received
02 April 2026
Revised
08 April 2026
Accepted
09 April 2026
Published
22 April 2026
Volume
8 - 2026
Edited and reviewed by
Martin Shepperd, Brunel University London, United Kingdom
Updates
Copyright
© 2026 Arceri, Chaki, Cortesi and Deb.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Vincenzo Arceri, vincenzo.arceri@unipr.it
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.