Authors:
Vera Pantelic
;
Steven Postma
;
Mark Lawford
;
Alexandre Korobkine
;
Bennett Mackenzie
;
Jeff Ong
and
Marc Bender
Affiliation:
McMaster University, Canada
Keyword(s):
Simulink, Tools, Software Engineering, Transformation, Data Flow.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Domain-Specific Modeling and Domain-Specific Languages
;
Languages, Tools and Architectures
;
Model Transformation
;
Model-Driven Software Development
;
Models
;
Paradigm Trends
;
Reasoning about Models
;
Software Engineering
Abstract:
This paper presents a set of tools that provide automatic support for application of some of the traditional software
engineering practices when developing with Simulink. The tools are the: Signature Tool, Reach/Coreach
Tool, Data Store Push-Down Tool, and Auto Layout Tool. The Signature Tool extracts the interface of a
Simulink subsystem, identifying the subsystem’s explicit, and implicit data flow mechanisms, empowering
developers to use the implicit mechanisms more effectively. The Reach/Coreach Tool identifies data and
control flow dependencies in a Simulink model and uses the information for model slicing. The view of dependencies
offered by the tool significantly eases the comprehension of large models. The dependencies can
also serve as indicators of alternative designs, and facilitate more effective testing and verification. The Data
Store Push-Down Tool restricts the scope of Simulink’s data stores thereby providing improved encapsulation,
and increasing modularity. Finally,
the Auto Layout Tool significantly decreases the manual effort developers
spend in achieving proper layout of models during design and refactoring, and can be used by automated
refactoring and transformation tools.
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