Difficulties with behaviour modelling in software and systems development
Michael von der Beeck · 2004
Summary form only given. Model based development does not constitute a new approach in industrial applications. Modelling languages like the UML and modelling tools like Matlab/Simulink are indeed used in many domains in industry for software and systems development. Structural as well as behavioural information is modelled by use of well-known description techniques like, for example, class diagrams, statechart diagrams and message sequence diagrams. However, in certain situations adequate modelling is difficult - especially modelling of behaviour and scenarios. We present an example: function net modelling is a technique that provides a graphical, quite abstract representation of a (typically large) set of functions to be realized. Function net models are described in UML-RT. However, they only represent structural information, no behavioural information. The reason is given by the difficulty of method integration for behavioural description techniques like statecharts. In our application scenario a seamless semantic integration between function net models and models of the development tool ASCET SD is necessary. In the case that function net models would provide behavioural information, e.g. a UML-RT state machine, such a UML-RT state machine would have to be transformed into an ASCET SD state machine. Due to the intricate semantic differences between state machines in UML-RT and ASCET SD, the definition of this transformation is nontrivial. Therefore, we have defined a software development process in which only structural information is modelled in function nets. This kind of information is easier to transform to ASCET SD models. After the (automatic) transformation the resulting structural ASCET SD models are manually enhanced by behavioural information. However, early modelling of behaviour is important. Therefore we finally discuss some approaches to overcome the problem of semantic method integration.