EE382C Embedded Software Systems - Andrande-Kovner Project
Hugo Andrade and Scott Kovner,
"Software Synthesis from Dataflow Models for Embedded Software Design
in the G Programming Language and the LabVIEW Development Environment"
The "G" programming language, as implemented in the National Instruments
product "LabVIEW", allows the user to describe a program with a dataflow
representation.
Our goal is to apply the techniques and concepts of the Ptolemy environment
towards the adaptation of G as an embedded software development tool.
Motivations for using LabVIEW
A brief history of the evolution of
development tools for instrumentation systems will be presented.
LabVIEW's dominance in this industry will be presented as a practical
reason for extending its functionality to target embedded systems. This
is not unlike using the industry standard "Java" as a universal system
description language to take advantage of the widespread knowledge of
Java in the field.
G models of computation
LabVIEW uses a dynamically scheduled dataflow
model of execution, as opposed to the synchronous dataflow model
discussed in class. We will study the feasibility of generating
synchronous executables with G. Also, the G language itself is different
from traditional dataflow representations in several respects, and those
differences will be addressed.
Ptolemy models of computation
We will study the Ptolemy environment and its models of computation.
In particular, we will see how G fits into Ptolemy's system partitioning
scheme.
We will describe how some of the models of computation can be mapped to G.
For example, how can we use G syntax to describe synchronous dataflow or
FSMs?
Proposed changes to G
Finally, we will discuss possible changes to G. We will discuss what
extensions may be necessary for G to be more useful for representing
some of these models of computation. We will also discuss semantic and
syntactic restrictions to G that may be helpful when using G to describe
a particular computational model.
Last updated 03/03/98.