Model-Based Engineering with AADL: An Introduction to the SAE Architecture Analysis & Design Language

Conventional build-then-test practices are making today’s embedded, software-reliant systems unaffordable to build. In response, more than thirty leading industrial organizations have joined SAE (formerly, the Society of Automotive Engineers) to define the SAE Architecture Analysis & Design Language (AADL) AS-5506 Standard, a rigorous and extensible foundation for model-based engineering analysis practices that encompass software system design, integration, and assurance. Using AADL, you can conduct lightweight and rigorous analyses of critical real-time factors such as performance, dependability, security, and data integrity. You can integrate additional established and custom analysis/specification techniques into your engineering environment, developing a fully unified architecture model that makes it easier to build reliable systems that meet customer expectations.   Model-Based Engineering with AADL is the first guide to using this new international standard to optimize your development processes. Coauthored by Peter H. Feiler, the standard’s author and technical lead, this introductory reference and tutorial is ideal for self-directed learning or classroom instruction, and is an excellent reference for practitioners, including architects, developers, integrators, validators, certifiers, first-level technical leaders, and project managers. Packed with real-world examples, it introduces all aspects of the AADL notation as part of an architecture-centric, model-based engineering approach to discovering embedded software systems problems earlier, when they cost less to solve. Throughout, the authors compare AADL to other modeling notations and approaches, while presenting the language via a complete case study: the development and analysis of a realistic example system through repeated refinement and analysis.   Part One introduces both the AADL language and core Model-Based Engineering (MBE) practices, explaining basic software systems modeling and analysis in the context of an example system, and offering practical guidelines for effectively applying AADL.   Part Two describes the characteristics of each AADL element, including their representations, applicability, and constraints.   The Appendix includes comprehensive listings of AADL language elements, properties incorporated in the AADL standard, and a description of the book’s example system.  

Table of Contents:
Preface xv Introduction 1 PART I: Model-Based Engineering and the AADL 3 Chapter 1: Model-Based Software Systems Engineering 5 1.1 MBE and Software System Engineering 6 1.2 AADL and Other Modeling Languages 12 Chapter 2: Working with the SAE AADL 17 2.1 AADL Models 19 2.2 System Specification and System Instances 26 Chapter 3: Modeling and Analysis with the AADL: The Basics 31 3.1 Developing a Simple Model 31 3.2 Representing Code Artifacts 47 3.3 Modeling Dynamic Reconfigurations 51 3.4 Modeling and Analyzing Abstract Flows 55 3.5 Developing a Conceptual Model 58 3.6 Working with Component Patterns 69 Chapter 4: Applying AADL Capabilities 77 4.1 Specifying System Composition 77 4.2 Component Interactions 84 4.3 Modeling Data and Its Use 97 4.4 Organizing a Design 101 PART II: Elements of the AADL 109 Chapter 5: Defining AADL Components 113 5.1 Component Names 113 5.2 Component Categories 114 5.3 Declaring Component Types 114 5.4 Declaring a Component’s External Interfaces 118 5.5 Declaring Component Implementations 121 5.6 Summary 125 Chapter 6: Software Components 127 6.1 Thread 128 6.2 Thread Group 133 6.3 Process 135 6.4 Data 138 6.5 Subprogram 141 6.6 Subprogram Group 144 Chapter 7: Execution Platform Components 147 7.1 Processor 148 7.2 Virtual Processor 151 7.3 Memory 153 7.4 Bus 156 7.5 Virtual Bus 158 7.6 Device 160 Chapter 8: Composite and Generic Components 163 8.1 System 163 8.2 Abstract 165 Chapter 9: Static and Dynamic Architecture 169 9.1 Subcomponents 169 9.2 Modes 173 Chapter 10: Component Interactions 185 10.1 Ports and Connections 186 10.2 Data Access and Connections 210 10.3 Bus Access and Connections 213 10.4 Feature Groups and Connections 217 10.5 Abstract Features and Connections 225 10.6 Arrays and Connections 227 10.7 Subprogram Calls, Access, and Instances 232 10.8 Parameter Connections 240 Chapter 11: System Flows and Software Deployment 245 11.1 Flows 245 11.2 Binding Software to Hardware 256 Chapter 12: Organizing Models 263 12.1 Naming and Referencing Model Elements 263 12.2 Organizing Models with Packages 266 12.3 Evolving Models by Classifier Refinement 273 12.4 Prototypes as Classifier Parameters 281 Chapter 13: Annotating Models 289 13.1 Documenting Model Elements 289 13.2 Using Properties 291 Chapter 14: Extending the Language 303 14.1 Property Sets 303 14.2 Annex Sublanguages 312 Chapter 15: Creating and Validating Models 317 15.1 Model Creation 317 15.2 Model Creation Tools 319 15.3 System Validation and Generation 321 15.4 System Validation and Generation Tools 322 Appendixes 325 Appendix A: Syntax and Property Summary 327 A.1 AADL Syntax 327 A.2 Component Type and Implementation Elements 342 A.3 Basic Property Types and Type Constructors 347 A.4 AADL Reserved Words 348 A.5 AADL Properties 349 A.6 Runtime Services 418 A.7 Powerboat Autopilot System 425 Appendix B: Additional Resources 429 B.1 Modeling System Architectures 429 B.2 Cases Studies 431 Appendix C: References 435 Index 441

About the Author :
Peter H. Feiler, senior member of technical staff at the Software Engineering Institute (SEI), is technical lead and author of the SAE AADL standard. In his 27 years at the SEI he has worked on software development environments, configuration management, and real-time embedded systems. He has collaborated with the research community and has applied resulting technologies such as AADL with customers in avionics, space, and automotive industries, as well as government programs.   David P. Gluch, formerly senior member of the technical staff at SEI and now a visiting scientist there, is a professor of software engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He has held key engineering and technical management positions with high-tech firms where he developed real-time software-intensive systems for commercial fly-by-wire aircraft control, automated process control, and the Space Shuttle.