Formal Models and Prototyping

Rapid prototyping is a promising approach for formulating accurate software requirements, particularly for complex systems with hard real-time constraints. Computer aid is needed for realizing the potential benefits of this approach in practice, because the problems associated with software evolution arce greatly amplified in the context of iterative prototyping and exploratory design. Our computer-aided prototyping system CAPS provides automated support for many aspects of requirements analysis and software prototyping, including: (I) maintaining logical dependencies between assmnptions about needs of different groups, software requirements, and design decisions, (2) managing designn history, alternatives and dependencies, (3) planning, assigning and scheduling job assigments for teams of designers in the presence of uncertainty, (4) checking and propagating design constraints, (5) maintaining consistency between graphical and text views of a design, (G) constructing real-time schedules, (7) generating control code, and (8) retrieving and instantiating reusable software components. The principles and methods that make this possible and the practical application of the system are explained via examples