Engineers now have the ability to formally specify properties of their hardware design model using an industry standard, and then verify these properties in dynamic verification (that is, simulation) or static verification (that is, formal verification). Prior to IEEE 1850, there were multiple proprietary ways of specifying properties and assertions, but not a standard. This meant that the same specification could not be used across multiple tools. With a new standard, a single form of specification can be reused across multiple processes.

Harry Foster