Synchronous programming techniques for embedded systems: Present and future

Abstract

The synchronous programming methodology for reactive systems has been developed since the beginning of the 80’s and it is currently used in numerous critical embedded systems projetcs. The methodolody is based on a strong mathematical framework that rigorously established the semantics of synchronous formalisms. The main industrial tools are Scade (Telelogic), Esterel Studio (Esterel Technologies), and Sildex (TNI). Current applications concern avionics, transportation systems, energy, telecom and wireless systems, etc. We present the general synchronous framework and the formalisms tailored to data-flow or control-flow dominated applications. We discuss the main issues in efficient code generation and formal property verification (safety, timing, etc.). We discuss the strength and limits of the basic synchronous paradigms, and present new ways of designing globally asynchronous/locally synchronous (GALS) systems.