PDL/Ada: a design language based on Ada

This paper discusses (i) some general concepts of design languages, (2) the development of the specific design language denoted as PDL/Ada, (3) the specific features of PDL/Ada, and (4) some problems encountered and techniques used in defining PDL/Ada. An appendix shows two examples. Because of space constraints, each of these items can only be touched on briefly. This paper assumes that the reader has a basic familiarity with the Ada language (herein after referred to as Ada*), but detailed knowledge is not required. The prime technical focus of the work has been to replace an existing design language and notation which supports a specific design methodology with a design language based on Ada without impacting the methodology. There was a clearcut decision to use Ada to obtain the dual benefits of having a design language which was a subset of a programming language while still retaining just the concepts needed for a design (rather than a programming) language.