Project Name: A Graphical AADL Model Development Environment Based On Rational (IBM) ROSE

Sponsor:
Ed Colbert (email: ecolbert@usc.edu, tel: 213-821-1240)

Partners:
TBD

Background:
An Avionics Architecture Description Language (AADL) is being developed as a standard by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Avionics Division.

The AADL provides engineers a standard model-driven approach to specify software and execution platform architectures that support analysis of embedded safety-critical applications requiring high performance, high reliability, and portable component specifications and runtime executive generation — resulting in rapid life-cycle evolvability. The AADL allows developers to specify system component types with multiple implementations and their instantiation. The AADL supports extensibility through component subclassing and through extensions to the core language.
The AADL standard specifies the language syntax and semantics for both graphical and textual representation. The graphical representation is an extension of the Object Management Group’s (OMG) Unified Modeling Language (UML). An XML representation is being developed. (The XML schema is expected to be completed by November.)
The proposed AADL standard defines the language syntax using a variant of Backus-Naur Form (BNF) and plain text. A UML specification of the AADL is under development. The standard defines the language’s execution semantics using hybrid automata diagrams, which specify the rules for system state transitions that would occur in the execution of any architectural specification.

Commercial developers are expected offer numerous tools (e.g., analyzers, simulators, graphical editors, automatic program construction suites) to support the AADL. Approximately 8 tools are expected to be produced CS577 projects this year (e.g. GME– or Rose–based graphical editors, a textual editor, an AADL to XML translator, and analyzers).
Rational Software (now part of IBM) has a partially tailorable tool, Rose, that supports software systems based on UML that is one of the most popular in industry.

Problem:
This project will develop a graphical modeling environment for AADL using Rose. This involves modifying Rose’s environment (creating stereotype icons for display, custom forms for entering data, custom menus for making diagrams, semantic checking, and XML generation); implementing semantic constraints for verifying the legality of AADL models using either Rose’s Basic programming langue or an external program; and generating an AADL-specific XML representation as representation for interchange with other tools. Ideally the Rose–based environment should be able to read an XML representation of an AADL architecture and generate a graphical representation.

Constraints:
- Rational (IBM) Rose
- The SAE AADL Specification
- The draft AADL–XML Specification

Desired Deliverables:
- Graphical AADL Modeling Environment that runs on standard Windows PC’s and UNIX.
- User’s Guide
- Programmer’s Guide