Research-Backed Prompt

Specification Mining from Behavior (Reverse Engineering Requirements)

Given working code/product, extract formal specifications and unwritten rules. Useful for onboarding, documentation, and catching edge cases. Much faster than reading source code.

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Specification Mining from Behavior (Reverse Engineering Requirements)

Given working code/product, extract formal specifications and unwritten rules. Useful for onboarding, documentation, and catching edge cases. Much faster than reading source code.

reverse-engineering

specification

requirements

edge-cases

testing

documentation

Variables

Code Snippet or System Behavior *

Prompt

I'll show you working code/behavior. Your job: Extract the hidden specification.

Code/Behavior:


Do the following:

1. List all inputs the system accepts
   - Valid ranges
   - Edge cases it handles
   - What happens with invalid input?

2. List all outputs and their rules
   - When does it return X vs Y?
   - What triggers errors?
   - Any side effects?

3. State the implicit requirements (things not in docs but clearly enforced)

4. Find 5 edge cases this code might NOT handle

5. Write 10 test cases that would break this (if they exist)

6. Create a formal specification: 'This system will...'

Examples

Input

{
  "codeOrBehavior": "[Paste a function, API endpoint, or system behavior description]"
}

Output

Complete specification extraction: inputs/outputs, implicit requirements, unhandled edge cases, breaking test cases, and formal specification statement.

Sources

https://arxiv.org/abs/2003.06232

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