CAREER: Designing Embedded Systems with Domain-Specific Languages

用特定领域的嵌入式系统设计Stephen A.爱德华兹这个项目的目标是为嵌入式系统的设计者提供工具，使他们能够更快地创建正确的系统。它建议通过提供特定领域的语言和编译器来实现这一点。 这种简洁、抽象的语言通过提供更正式的、按构造纠正的方法和自动实现技术来减少开发和测试时间。其结果将使这些系统的开发超越当前的特设C和汇编方法。该项目解决了许多嵌入式系统设计中的三个问题：实时软件、通信软件和跨硬件/软件边界的通信软件。这些问题通过以下具体调查来解决：同步编译器的新编译技术同步语言（如Esterel）提供了非常可预测的实时行为，但编译起来很有挑战性。 该项目包括为用Esterel语言及其变体描述的大型系统开发新的、更有效的编译技术。 网络通信正在成为每个嵌入式系统的关键部分，但是协议的日益复杂和对带宽的需求（例如，这个项目包括开发一种新的语言来描述这样的协议软件和一个编译器来产生高效的实现。新的语言和编译器的设备驱动程序编写软件，直接与硬件进行通信是目前繁琐和容易出错的，不幸的是，在嵌入式系统中更重要，因为他们往往有应用程序特定的外设。 本项目旨在通过创建用于编写设备驱动程序的语言和编译器来简化这一任务。 这项研究的结果将使更多的语言能够跨越硬件/软件的边界进行交流。这个项目也解决了反复出现的抱怨，即通过开发沿着这些路线的新课程，学校没有培养出既懂硬件又懂软件的学生，从而无法成为有效的嵌入式系统设计师。 在本科阶段，一个新的嵌入式系统项目课程正在开发中，这将使学生有机会学习和使用这些新技术。 在研究生阶段，一个更复杂的课程正在开发中，重点是描述嵌入式系统的语言，以及它们的语义和实现。 这将为未来的设计者提供更多的工具来开发嵌入式系统，并为学生在自动化嵌入式系统设计方面的研究做好准备。该项目的成果通过三种方式传播：通过会议和期刊论文，通过向公共领域发布所有开发的软件，以及通过教育学生使用开发的语言和编译器。 正如计算机辅助设计工具已经能够快速、正确地设计极其复杂的集成电路一样，这项工作也能够快速、正确地设计未来的复杂嵌入式系统。

Designing Embedded Systems with Domain-Specific LanguagesStephen A. EdwardsThis goal of this project is to provide tools to designers of embeddedsystems that will allow them to more quickly create correct systems.It proposes to do this by providing domain-specific languages andcompilers. Such succinct, abstract languages reduce development andtesting time by providing more formal, correct-by-constructionmethodologies and by enabling automatic implementation techniques.The result will enable the development of these systems to proceedbeyond the current ad hoc C-and-assembly approach.The project addresses three issues in the design of many embeddedsystems: real-time software, software for communication, and softwarefor communicating across the hardware/software boundary.These issues are addressed through the following specific investigations:New Compilation Techniques for Synchronous LanguagesSynchronous languages such as Esterel provide very predictablereal-time behavior but are challenging to compile. This projectincludes developing new, more efficient compilation techniques forlarge systems described in the Esterel language and its variants. New Languages and Compilers for Communication ProtocolsNetwork communication is becoming a crucial part of every embeddedsystem, but the growing complexity of the protocols and the need forbandwidth (e.g., for video) makes this software difficult to develop.This project includes the development of a new language fordescribing such protocol software and a compiler for producingefficient implementations.New Languages and Compilers for Device DriversWriting software that communicates directly with hardware is currentlytedious and error-prone, and unfortunately even more important inembedded systems since they tend to have application-specificperipherals. This project aims to simplify this task by creating alanguage and compiler for writing device drivers. The results of this research will enable more diverse languages for communicating across the hardware/software boundary.This project is also addressing the recurring complaint that academiadoes not produce students who understand both hardware and softwarewell enough to be effective embedded systems designers by developingnew courses along these lines. At the undergraduate level, a newembedded systems project course is being developed that will givestudents the opportunity to learn about and use some of these newtechniques. At the graduate level, a more sophisticated course isbeing developed that focuses on languages for describing embeddedsystems and isses with their semantics and implementation. This willgive future designers more tools for developing embedded systems andwill prepare students for research in automating embedded systemdesign.The results of this project are being disseminated in three ways:through conference and journal papers, through the release of alldeveloped software to the public domain, and through the education ofstudents in the use of the languages and compilers developed. Just ascomputer-aided design tools have enabled the rapid, correct design offantastically complex integrated circuits, this work is enabling thequick, correct design of tomorrow's complex embedded systems.