Projects at LS IV from 1985 to 1996

KOSMOS aimed at developing general concepts for structured modeling and system analysis. It was jointly supported by the computer manufacturers SIEMENS AG and Nixdorf Computer AG and the BMFT (Federal Ministry of Research and Technology).

ILAN is a project that dealt with the development of LB tools. ILAN was partially supported by Nixdorf Computer AG and the BMFT. Its main result is the hierarchical LB tool HIT, which is currently in use in various universities and in industry.

The research object of the OSMOD project was the modeling of operating system components during their development. In particular, operating systems for future multi-processor systems and newer hierarchical memory elements were the focus of interest. The project was carried out in cooperation with SIEMENS AG.

This project was based on a collaboration with the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Dortmund. Funding was provided by the DFG. The main objective was the transfer of algebraic analysis techniques from the field of LB to the field of material flow systems. The results obtained include the identification, realization and application of a subclass of these techniques.

IMSE stands for "Integrated Modelling Support Environment'' and aimed at simplifying LB measures in the system development process. For this purpose an object-oriented integration environment was created, which supports several LB tools. IMSE was a collaborative research project funded by the European Community under the ESPRIT2 program. It involved 10 European organizations under the leadership of STC Technology (UK).

MACOM dealt with the modeling and analysis of communication systems. It was carried out in cooperation with Deutsche Telekom AG. The MACOM tool developed as part of this project is used to support the design process of future telecommunications systems and their components.

ATMOSPHERE (Advanced Tools and Methods fOr System Production in Heterogeneous, Extensible, Real Environments) was an ESPRIT project in the area of information technology. It aimed to combine European research efforts in the field of automated system development, in particular to bring together experience from the areas of "Computer Aided Software Engineering'' (CASE) and "Computer Aided Design (CAD)'" The task of Informatik IV was the integration of the LB tool HIT, based on the JESSI Common Framework (JCF). Furthermore, we developed methods for LB of formal specification techniques (e.g. SDL) and for hardware development (e.g. VHDL).

MALKADA investigated decomposition and aggregation techniques. These techniques are used in an industrial environment for LB and reliability analysis of multiprocessor systems. The project was supported by SIEMENS AG.

The goal of the POCOS IV project was to develop a tool for predicting and describing the load of computing systems based on real load and power measurements. The project was funded by Siemens-Nixdorf-Informationssysteme (SNI) AG.

ASSET (Advanced System and Software engineering Enabling Technologies) was an ESPRIT project in which we were particularly concerned with the integration of LB techniques into concretely applied formal description techniques (FDTs).

The goal was to develop computer-aided tools for specification (composition, interpretation and animation tools) and verification (theorem prover frontend and model checker) based on the temporal logic approach TLA (Temporal Logic of Actions). The project was funded by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC).

A framework to support the design and verification of high performance communication protocols has been developed. It consists of design modules and theorems. The design building blocks, which model protocol mechanisms and service properties, can be composed with each other to form protocol or service specifications. Protocol proofs are decomposed into individual substeps, which are provided by the theorems of the framework.

Methods for correctness-assuring design of open distributed applications are investigated. Abstract system specifications are refined step by step by integrating special design patterns to an implementable specification. The design patterns allow the integration of standardized distributed algorithms and of communication platforms.

Based on TLA, a method for the formal design, analysis and verification of hybrid technical systems is developed. In particular, the design of chemical engineering systems shall be facilitated by a framework of continuous and discrete design modules as well as theorems for correctness verification. The project is funded by the DFG within the priority program KONDISK.