Model-based specification of the flight software of an autonomous satellite

International audienceIn the framework of the AGATA program, we applied a model-based development process founded on a living UML specification to produce the RT-Java code of the AGATA onboard software. Derived from classical V-shaped production cycle, our development process benefited from several model-based engineering methods, such as model-debugging and automated code generation. Our resulting Y-shaped production cycle enabled an incremental development process that allowed us to start software validation early in the process. Despite the complexity of the AGATA onboard software we thereby manage to achieve its functional validation and were able to evaluate RT-Java (Real-Time Java Specification-RTSJ) for real-time space applications

A Methodology for Model Based Development of Application Software Modules Exemplified by Radar Based Parking Systems

International audienceThis paper addresses a methodology for the development of driver assistance systems. As an example the development of parking systems is described in detail. Throughout the paper the complete system including sensors, ECU and software is considered in order to provide better understanding of the overall development activities in each state of development. A model based development approach is chosen for the early evaluation of the whole system. Graphical models are used throughout the process which is also advantageous for the extraction and the systematic validation of sub modules. The models are both used for the preparation of decisions in functional or software architecture and for testing and integration strategies. For software modules containing core function applications the tool-supported development is presented, starting from basic ideas of new functionalities up to and including automatically generated production code for electronic control units

Functional Size Measurement and Model Verification for Software Model-Driven Developments: A COSMIC-based Approach

Historically, software production methods and tools have a unique goal: to produce high quality software. Since the goal of Model-Driven Development (MDD) methods is no different, MDD methods have emerged to take advantage of the benefits of using conceptual models to produce high quality software. In such MDD contexts, conceptual models are used as input to automatically generate final applications. Thus, we advocate that there is a relation between the quality of the final software product and the quality of the models used to generate it. The quality of conceptual models can be influenced by many factors. In this thesis, we focus on the accuracy of the techniques used to predict the characteristics of the development process and the generated products. In terms of the prediction techniques for software development processes, it is widely accepted that knowing the functional size of applications in order to successfully apply effort models and budget models is essential. In order to evaluate the quality of generated applications, defect detection is considered to be the most suitable technique. The research goal of this thesis is to provide an accurate measurement procedure based on COSMIC for the automatic sizing of object-oriented OO-Method MDD applications. To achieve this research goal, it is necessary to accurately measure the conceptual models used in the generation of object-oriented applications. It is also very important for these models not to have defects so that the applications to be measured are correctly represented. In this thesis, we present the OOmCFP (OO-Method COSMIC Function Points) measurement procedure. This procedure makes a twofold contribution: the accurate measurement of objectoriented applications generated in MDD environments from the conceptual models involved, and the verification of conceptual models to allow the complete generation of correct final applications from the conceptual models involved. The OOmCFP procedure has been systematically designed, applied, and automated. This measurement procedure has been validated to conform to the ISO 14143 standard, the metrology concepts defined in the ISO VIM, and the accuracy of the measurements obtained according to ISO 5725. This procedure has also been validated by performing empirical studies. The results of the empirical studies demonstrate that OOmCFP can obtain accurate measures of the functional size of applications generated in MDD environments from the corresponding conceptual models.Marín Campusano, BM. (2011). Functional Size Measurement and Model Verification for Software Model-Driven Developments: A COSMIC-based Approach [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/11237Palanci

Interactive Energy Demand Analysis: A Case Study of Shanxi Province, PRC

Within the framework of collaboration between IIASA's Advanced Computer Applications project (ACA) and the State Science and Technology Commission of the People's Republic of China (SSTCC), ACA has developed an integrated set of information and decision support system for development planning in China. The system is implemented for a case study of Shanxi, a province in north central China, which is very rich in coal and several mineral resources, but is still at an early stage of development, lacking, for example, a well developed infrastructure, or sufficient water. The decision support system combines several data bases, simulation and optimization models, and AI components, in an easy-to-use Expert System framework. A graphical and largely symbolic user interface, relying exclusively on menu techniques and providing extensive help and explain functions, makes access to the system's functions easy for the planner and decision maker, who might have little or no computer experience. The system is designed to assist the five-year planning process in Shanxi Province, which, in the Chinese philosophy of integrated development, includes investment distribution, i.e. primarily economic, but also technological, resource, environmental, and socio-political considerations. The scope of the system, consequently, ranges from the macroeconomic level down to sectoral and more engineering-oriented models. The energy sector certainly plays one of the most important roles in Shanxi's economic development. Shanxi is China's power house: with annual coal production approaching 250 Mt, economic and industrial development is centered around the production and use of coal. In the Shanxi software system, modeling the energy demand (and also related investment, labor, and water requirements) of planned production schemes, or more generally, the economic and social development, is done with the help of the MAED-BI (Model for Analysis of Energy Demand in Basic Industries). While centered on heavy industry, the model has been extended to cover the full range of economic sectors for compatibility with the overall system. Connection to a relational data base management system for the definition of input scenaria, and an interactive, graphical user interface for the selective display of model results, are important features. The model was developed in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and is based on previous work done at IIASA's Energy Program. It is not only a valuable component in the overall software system, but also provides an example of the model-based decision support philosophy that is at the core of the overall project

The impact and penetration of location-based services

Since the invention of digital technology, its development has followed an entrenched path ofminiaturisation and decentralisation with increasing focus on individual and niche applications. Computerhardware has moved from remote centres to desktop and hand held devices whilst being embedded invarious material infrastructures. Software has followed the same course. The entire process has convergedon a path where various analogue devices have become digital and are increasingly being embedded inmachines at the smallest scale. In a parallel but essential development, there has been a convergence ofcomputers with communications ensuring that the delivery and interaction mechanisms for computersoftware is now focused on networks of individuals, not simply through the desktop, but in mobilecontexts. Various inert media such as fixed television is becoming more flexible as computers and visualmedia are becoming one.With such massive convergence and miniaturisation, new software and new applications define the cuttingedge. As computers are being increasingly tailored to individual niches, then new digital services areemerging, many of which represent applications which hitherto did not exist or at best were rarely focusedon a mass market. Location based services form one such application and in this paper, we will bothspeculate on and make some initial predictions of the geographical extent to which such services willpenetrate different markets. We define such services in detail below but suffice it to say at this stage thatsuch functions involve the delivery of traditional services using digital media and telecommunications.High profile applications are now being focused on hand held devices, typically involving information onproduct location and entertainment but wider applications involve fixed installations on the desktop whereservices are delivered through traditional fixed infrastructure. Both wire and wireless applications definethis domain. The market for such services is inevitably volatile and unpredictable at this early stage but wewill attempt here to provide some rudimentary estimates of what might happen in the next five to tenyears.The ?network society? which has developed through this convergence, is, according to Castells (1989,2000) changing and re-structuring the material basis of society such that information has come todominate wealth creation in a way that information is both a raw material of production and an outcome ofproduction as a tradable commodity. This has been fuelled by the way technology has expanded followingMoore?s Law and by fundamental changes in the way telecommunications, finance, insurance, utilitiesand so on is being regulated. Location based services are becoming an integral part of this fabric and thesereflect yet another convergence between geographic information systems, global positioning systems, andsatellite remote sensing. The first geographical information system, CGIS, was developed as part of theCanada Land Inventory in 1965 and the acronym ?GIS? was introduced in 1970. 1971 saw the firstcommercial satellite, LANDSAT-1. The 1970s also saw prototypes of ISDN and mobile telephone and theintroduction of TCP/IP as the dominant network protocol. The 1980s saw the IBM XT (1982) and thebeginning of de-regulation in the US, Europe and Japan of key sectors within the economy. Finally in the 1990s, we saw the introduction of the World Wide Web and the ubiquitous pervasion of business andrecreation of networked PC?s, the Internet, mobile communications and the growing use of GPS forlocational positioning and GIS for the organisation and visualisation of spatial data. By the end of the 20thcentury, the number of mobile telephone users had reached 700 million worldwide. The increasingmobility of individuals, the anticipated availability of broadband communications for mobile devices andthe growing volumes of location specific information available in databases will inevitably lead to thedemand for services that will deliver location related information to individuals on the move. Suchlocation based services (LBS) although in a very early stage of development, are likely to play anincreasingly important part in the development of social structures and business in the coming decades.In this paper we begin by defining location based services within the context we have just sketched. Wethen develop a simple model of the market for location-based services developing the standard non-linearsaturation model of market penetration. We illustrate this for mobile devices, namely mobile phones in thefollowing sections and then we develop an analysis of different geographical regimes which arecharacterised by different growth rates and income levels worldwide. This leads us to speculate on theextent to which location based services are beginning to take off and penetrate the market. We concludewith scenarios for future growth through the analogy of GIS and mobile penetration

Non-functional properties in the model-driven development of service-oriented systems

Systems based on the service-oriented architecture (SOA) principles have become an important cornerstone of the development of enterprise-scale software applications. They are characterized by separating functions into distinct software units, called services, which can be published, requested and dynamically combined in the production of business applications. Service-oriented systems (SOSs) promise high flexibility, improved maintainability, and simple re-use of functionality. Achieving these properties requires an understanding not only of the individual artifacts of the system but also their integration. In this context, non-functional aspects play an important role and should be analyzed and modeled as early as possible in the development cycle. In this paper, we discuss modeling of non-functional aspects of service-oriented systems, and the use of these models for analysis and deployment. Our contribution in this paper is threefold. First, we show how services and service compositions may be modeled in UML by using a profile for SOA (UML4SOA) and how non-functional properties of service-oriented systems can be represented using the non-functional extension of UML4SOA (UML4SOA-NFP) and the MARTE profile. This enables modeling of performance, security and reliable messaging. Second, we discuss formal analysis of models which respect this design, in particular we consider performance estimates and reliability analysis using the stochastically timed process algebra PEPA as the underlying analytical engine. Last but not least, our models are the source for the application of deployment mechanisms which comprise model-to-model and model-to-text transformations implemented in the framework VIATRA. All techniques presented in this work are illustrated by a running example from an eUniversity case study