Code Parameterization for Satisfaction of QoS Requirements in Embedded Software

The rapid growth of embedded systems urgently requires methods of improving the development process for these systems. Component-based development (CBD) techniques have been widely studied to enhance the productivity of developing complex applications. These techniques can benefit the software development process for embedded systems as well as other application domains. However, applying CBD techniques to embedded software development faces additional challenges. For embedded systems, it is crucial to consider the QoS attributes, such as timeliness, memory limitations, output precision, battery constraints, etc. However, it is often difficult to adjust the QoS properties of a system integrated from components that do not consider QoS properties in the first place. In this paper, we present an overview of a repository-based embedded software development methodology and then focus on component parameterization techniques. The basic concept of the parameterization process is to identify configurable parameters in a component that can be parameterized to achieve QoS tradeoffs. The component is then modified to a reconfigurable one such that its configurable parameters can be adjusted to satisfy different QoS requirements for various applications or for dynamical changing execution environment. A rule base is used to assist the parameter identification process. We also develop delta file technique to facilitate component adaptation and testing tools for QoS data collection. Keywords-embedded system, component parameterization, QoS, Repository system

[1]  R.A. Steigerwald,et al.  Reusable component retrieval for real-time applications , 1993, [1993] Proceedings of the IEEE Workshop on Real-Time Applications.

[2]  Latifur Khan,et al.  An on-line repository for embedded software , 2001, Proceedings 13th IEEE International Conference on Tools with Artificial Intelligence. ICTAI 2001.

[3]  Lorenzo Strigini,et al.  On systematic design of protectors for employing OTS items , 2001, Proceedings 27th EUROMICRO Conference. 2001: A Net Odyssey.

[4]  Heiko Krumm,et al.  Trust-adapted enforcement of security policies in distributed component-structured applications , 2001, Proceedings. Sixth IEEE Symposium on Computers and Communications.

[5]  Lawrence Chung,et al.  NFR-Assistant: tool support for achieving quality , 1999, Proceedings 1999 IEEE Symposium on Application-Specific Systems and Software Engineering and Technology. ASSET'99 (Cat. No.PR00122).

[6]  Sandeep K. Shukla,et al.  An environment for dynamic component composition for efficient co-design , 2002, Proceedings 2002 Design, Automation and Test in Europe Conference and Exhibition.

[7]  Ralph E. Johnson,et al.  Wrappers to the Rescue , 1998, ECOOP.

[8]  Alexander Romanovsky.  Exception handling in component-based system development , 2001, 25th Annual International Computer Software and Applications Conference. COMPSAC 2001.

[9]  George T. Heineman,et al.  An Evaluation of Component Adaptation Techniques , 1998 .

[10]  Urs Hölzle,et al.  Integrating Independently-Developed Components in Object-Oriented Languages , 1993, ECOOP.

[11]  Latifur Khan,et al.  A component-based approach for embedded software development , 2002, Proceedings Fifth IEEE International Symposium on Object-Oriented Real-Time Distributed Computing. ISIRC 2002.

[12]  Stephen S. Yau,et al.  Integration in component-based software development using design patterns , 2000, Proceedings 24th Annual International Computer Software and Applications Conference. COMPSAC2000.