VERTAF: An Object-Oriented Application Framework for Embedded Real-Time Systems

Pao-Ann Hsiung, Trong-Yen Lee, Win-Bin See, Jih-Ming Fu, and Sao-Jie Chen
Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering
National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi-621, Taiwan.
( ISORC'02, April 29-May 1, 2000.)

Abstract

Embedded real-time applications are often built from scratch on a trial-and-error basis, which leads to sub-optimal designs with latent errors that are not detectable in early stages of use or deployment and often incurs prolonged time-to-market. A new application framework called Verifiable Embedded Real-Time Application Framework (VERTAF) is proposed for embedded real-time application development, with the aim of reducing design errors and increasing design productivity. VERTAF is an integration of three technologies, namely object-oriented technology, software component technology, and formal verification technology. Standards are incorporated into VERTAF for wider acceptance by engineers, such as Real-Time Unified Modeling Language (RT-UML) for system input, and Real-Time Java (RT-Java) for generated code. VERTAF consists of five software components: Implanter, Modeler, Scheduler, Verifier, and Generator. Experiences of using VERTAF show a significant increase in design productivity through design reuse, and a significant decrease in design time and effort through design verification. Examples show a relative design effort of at most 5%, which shows how high-level reuse of software components combined with low-level re-use of objects significantly increase design productivity.

Keywords: Embedded Real-Time Application, Object-Oriented Application Framework, Software Components, Verification, Scheduling, Code Generation, Framework Evaluation