A data-centric approach to composing embedded, real-time software components

Software for embedded systems must cope with a variety of stringent constraints, such as real-time requirements, small memory footprints, and low power consumption. It is usually implemented using low-level programming languages, and as a result has not benefitted from component-based software development techniques. This paper describes a data-centric component model for embedded devices that (i) minimizes the number of concurrent tasks needed to implement the system, (ii) allows one to verify whether components meet their deadlines by applying rate monotonic analysis, and (iii) can generate and verify schedules using constraint logic programming. This model forms the foundation for a suite of tools for specifying, composing, verifying and deploying embedded software components developed in the context of the Pecos project.