From AADL Model to LNT Specification

The verification of distributed real-time systems designed by architectural languages such as AADL (Architecture Analysis and Design Language) is a research challenge. These systems are often used in safety- critical domains where one mistake can result in physical damages and even life loss. In such domains, formal methods are a suitable solution for rigorous analysis. This paper studies the formal verification of distributed real-time systems modelled with AADL. We transform AADL model to another specification formalism enabling the verification. We choose LNT language which is an input to CADP toolbox for formal analysis. Then, we illustrate our approach with the ”Flight Control System” case study

An ocarina extension for AADL formal semantics generation

International audienceThe formal veri cation has become a recommended practice in safety-critical software engineering. The hand-written of the for- mal speci cation requires a formal expertise and may become com- plex especially with large systems. In such context, the automatic generation of the formal speci cation seems helpful and reward- ing, particularly for reused and generic mapping such as hardware representations and real-time features. In this paper, we aim to formally verify real-time systems designed by AADL language. We propose an extension AADL2LNT of the Ocarina tool suite allowing the automatic generation of an LNT speci cation to draw a gateway for the CADP formal analysis toolbox. This work is illustrated with the Pacemaker case study

Towards a verified transformation from AADL to the formal component-based language FIACRE

International audienceDuring the last decade, aadl  is an emerging architecture description languages addressing the modeling of embedded systems. Several research projects have shown that aadl  concepts are well suited to the design of embedded systems. Moreover, aadl  has a precise execution model which has proved to be one key feature for effective early analysis. In this paper, we are concerned with the foundational aspects of the verification support for aadl. More precisely, we propose a verification toolchain for aadl  models through its transformation to the Fiacre language which is the pivot verification language of the TOPCASED project: high level models can be transformed to Fiacre  models and then model-checked. Then, we investigate how to prove the correctness of the transformation from AADL into Fiacre and present related elementary ingredients: the semantics of aadl  and Fiacre  subsets expressed in a common framework, namely timed transition systems. We also briefly discuss experimental validation of the work

Towards the Systematic Analysis of Non-Functional Properties in Model-Based Engineering for Real-Time Embedded Systems

The real-time scheduling theory provides analytical methods to assess the temporal predictability of embedded systems. Nevertheless, their use is limited in a Model-Based Systems Engineering approach. In fact, the large number of applicability conditions makes the use of real-time scheduling analysis tedious and error-prone. Key issues are left to the engineers: when to apply a real-time scheduling analysis? What to do with the analysis results?} This article presents an approach to systematize and then automate the analysis of non-functional properties in Model-Based Systems Engineering. First, preconditions and postconditions define the applicability of an analysis. In addition, contracts specify the analysis interfaces, thereby enabling to reason about the analysis process. We present a proof-of-concept implementation of our approach using a combination of constraint languages (REAL for run-time analysis) and specification languages (Alloy for describing interfaces and reasoning about them). This approach is experimented on architectural models written with the Architecture Analysis and Design Language (AADL)

Anpassen verteilter eingebetteter Anwendungen im laufenden Betrieb

The availability of third-party apps is among the key success factors for software ecosystems: The users benefit from more features and innovation speed, while third-party solution vendors can leverage the platform to create successful offerings. However, this requires a certain decoupling of engineering activities of the different parties not achieved for distributed control systems, yet. While late and dynamic integration of third-party components would be required, resulting control systems must provide high reliability regarding real-time requirements, which leads to integration complexity. Closing this gap would particularly contribute to the vision of software-defined manufacturing, where an ecosystem of modern IT-based control system components could lead to faster innovations due to their higher abstraction and availability of various frameworks. Therefore, this thesis addresses the research question: How we can use modern IT technologies and enable independent evolution and easy third-party integration of software components in distributed control systems, where deterministic end-to-end reactivity is required, and especially, how can we apply distributed changes to such systems consistently and reactively during operation? This thesis describes the challenges and related approaches in detail and points out that existing approaches do not fully address our research question. To tackle this gap, a formal specification of a runtime platform concept is presented in conjunction with a model-based engineering approach. The engineering approach decouples the engineering steps of component definition, integration, and deployment. The runtime platform supports this approach by isolating the components, while still offering predictable end-to-end real-time behavior. Independent evolution of software components is supported through a concept for synchronous reconfiguration during full operation, i.e., dynamic orchestration of components. Time-critical state transfer is supported, too, and can lead to bounded quality degradation, at most. The reconfiguration planning is supported by analysis concepts, including simulation of a formally specified system and reconfiguration, and analyzing potential quality degradation with the evolving dataflow graph (EDFG) method. A platform-specific realization of the concepts, the real-time container architecture, is described as a reference implementation. The model and the prototype are evaluated regarding their feasibility and applicability of the concepts by two case studies. The first case study is a minimalistic distributed control system used in different setups with different component variants and reconfiguration plans to compare the model and the prototype and to gather runtime statistics. The second case study is a smart factory showcase system with more challenging application components and interface technologies. The conclusion is that the concepts are feasible and applicable, even though the concepts and the prototype still need to be worked on in future -- for example, to reach shorter cycle times.Eine große Auswahl von Drittanbieter-Lösungen ist einer der Schlüsselfaktoren für Software Ecosystems: Nutzer profitieren vom breiten Angebot und schnellen Innovationen, während Drittanbieter über die Plattform erfolgreiche Lösungen anbieten können. Das jedoch setzt eine gewisse Entkopplung von Entwicklungsschritten der Beteiligten voraus, welche für verteilte Steuerungssysteme noch nicht erreicht wurde. Während Drittanbieter-Komponenten möglichst spät -- sogar Laufzeit -- integriert werden müssten, müssen Steuerungssysteme jedoch eine hohe Zuverlässigkeit gegenüber Echtzeitanforderungen aufweisen, was zu Integrationskomplexität führt. Dies zu lösen würde insbesondere zur Vision von Software-definierter Produktion beitragen, da ein Ecosystem für moderne IT-basierte Steuerungskomponenten wegen deren höherem Abstraktionsgrad und der Vielzahl verfügbarer Frameworks zu schnellerer Innovation führen würde. Daher behandelt diese Dissertation folgende Forschungsfrage: Wie können wir moderne IT-Technologien verwenden und unabhängige Entwicklung und einfache Integration von Software-Komponenten in verteilten Steuerungssystemen ermöglichen, wo Ende-zu-Ende-Echtzeitverhalten gefordert ist, und wie können wir insbesondere verteilte Änderungen an solchen Systemen konsistent und im Vollbetrieb vornehmen? Diese Dissertation beschreibt Herausforderungen und verwandte Ansätze im Detail und zeigt auf, dass existierende Ansätze diese Frage nicht vollständig behandeln. Um diese Lücke zu schließen, beschreiben wir eine formale Spezifikation einer Laufzeit-Plattform und einen zugehörigen Modell-basierten Engineering-Ansatz. Dieser Ansatz entkoppelt die Design-Schritte der Entwicklung, Integration und des Deployments von Komponenten. Die Laufzeit-Plattform unterstützt den Ansatz durch Isolation von Komponenten und zugleich Zeit-deterministischem Ende-zu-Ende-Verhalten. Unabhängige Entwicklung und Integration werden durch Konzepte für synchrone Rekonfiguration im Vollbetrieb unterstützt, also durch dynamische Orchestrierung. Dies beinhaltet auch Zeit-kritische Zustands-Transfers mit höchstens begrenzter Qualitätsminderung, wenn überhaupt. Rekonfigurationsplanung wird durch Analysekonzepte unterstützt, einschließlich der Simulation formal spezifizierter Systeme und Rekonfigurationen und der Analyse der etwaigen Qualitätsminderung mit dem Evolving Dataflow Graph (EDFG). Die Real-Time Container Architecture wird als Referenzimplementierung und Evaluationsplattform beschrieben. Zwei Fallstudien untersuchen Machbarkeit und Nützlichkeit der Konzepte. Die erste verwendet verschiedene Varianten und Rekonfigurationen eines minimalistischen verteilten Steuerungssystems, um Modell und Prototyp zu vergleichen sowie Laufzeitstatistiken zu erheben. Die zweite Fallstudie ist ein Smart-Factory-Demonstrator, welcher herausforderndere Applikationskomponenten und Schnittstellentechnologien verwendet. Die Konzepte sind den Studien nach machbar und nützlich, auch wenn sowohl die Konzepte als auch der Prototyp noch weitere Arbeit benötigen -- zum Beispiel, um kürzere Zyklen zu erreichen

A formal approach to AADL model-based software engineering

Formal methods have become a recommended practice in safety-critical software engineering. To be formally verified, a system should be specified with a specific formalism such as Petri nets, automata and process algebras, which requires a formal expertise and may become complex especially with large systems. In this paper, we report our experience in the formal verification of safety-critical real-time systems. We propose a formal mapping for a real-time task model using the LNT language, and we describe how it is used for the integration of a formal verification phase in an AADL model-based development process. We focus on real-time systems with event-driven tasks, asynchronous communication and preemptive fixed-priority scheduling. We provide a complete tool-chain for the automatic model transformation and formal verification of AADL models. Experimentation illustrates our results with the Flight control system and Line follower robot case studies

Mathematics in Software Reliability and Quality Assurance

This monograph concerns the mathematical aspects of software reliability and quality assurance and consists of 11 technical papers in this emerging area. Included are the latest research results related to formal methods and design, automatic software testing, software verification and validation, coalgebra theory, automata theory, hybrid system and software reliability modeling and assessment

An executable Theory of Multi-Agent Systems Refinement

Complex applications such as incident management, social simulations, manufacturing applications, electronic auctions, e-institutions, and business to business applications are pervasive and important nowadays. Agent-oriented methodology is an advance in abstractionwhich can be used by software developers to naturally model and develop systems for suchapplications. In general, with respect to design methodologies, what it may be important tostress is that control structures should be added at later stages of design, in a natural top-downmanner going from specifications to implementations, by refinement. Too much detail (be itfor the sake of efficiency) in specifications often turns out to be harmful. To paraphrase D.E.Knuth, “Premature optimization is the root of all evil” (quoted in ‘The Unix ProgrammingEnvironment’ by Kernighan and Pine, p. 91).The aim of this thesis is to adapt formal techniques to the agent-oriented methodologyinto an executable theory of refinement. The justification for doing so is to provide correctagent-based software by design. The underlying logical framework of the theory we proposeis based on rewriting logic, thus the theory is executable in the same sense as rewriting logicis. The storyline is as follows. We first motivate and explain constituting elements of agentlanguages chosen to represent both abstract and concrete levels of design. We then proposea definition of refinement between agents written in such languages. This notion of refinement ensures that concrete agents are correct with respect to the abstract ones. The advantageof the definition is that it easily leads to formulating a proof technique for refinement viathe classical notion of simulation. This makes it possible to effectively verify refinement bymodel-checking. Additionally, we propose a weakest precondition calculus as a deductivemethod based on assertions which allow to prove correctness of infinite state agents. Wegeneralise the refinement relation from single agents to multi-agent systems in order to ensure that concrete multi-agent systems refine their abstractions. We see multi-agent systemsas collections of coordinated agents, and we consider coordination artefacts as being basedeither on actions or on normative rules. We integrate these two orthogonal coordinationmechanisms within the same refinement theory extended to a timed framework. Finally, wediscuss implementation aspects.LEI Universiteit LeidenFoundations of Software Technolog

Dagstuhl News January - December 2000

"Dagstuhl News" is a publication edited especially for the members of the Foundation "Informatikzentrum Schloss Dagstuhl" to thank them for their support. The News give a summary of the scientific work being done in Dagstuhl. Each Dagstuhl Seminar is presented by a small abstract describing the contents and scientific highlights of the seminar as well as the perspectives or challenges of the research topic