ARt in
DeVeLoPment
model-Based Development
Photogra Ph: “FLUghaFEN” by ho-yEoL ryU
Model-based development (MBD)
refers to the use of domain-specific,
graphical modeling languages that
can be executed and analyzed before
the actual system is built. The use of
such modeling languages allows the
developers to create a model of the system, execute it on their desktops, analyze it with automated tools, and use
it to automatically generate code and
test cases.
Throughout this article we use MBD
to refer specifically to software devel-
oped using synchronous dataflow lan-
guages such as those found in MATLAB
Simulink and Esterel Technologies
SCADE Suite. Synchronous modeling
languages latch their inputs at the start
of a computation step, compute the
next system state and its outputs as a
single atomic step, and communicate
between components using dataflow
signals. This differs from the more
general class of modeling languages
that include support for asynchro-
nous execution of components and
communication using message pass-
ing. MBD has become very popular in
the avionics and automotive industries
and we have found synchronous data-
flow models to be especially well suited
for automated verification using model
checking.
