Section: Application Domains

Embedded Control Software

Embedded control software defines the interactions of specialized hardware with the physical world. It normally ticks away unnoticed inside systems like medical devices, trains, aircraft, satellites, and factories. This software is complex and great effort is required to avoid potentially serious errors, especially over many years of maintenance and reuse.

Engineers have long designed such systems using block diagrams and state machines to represent the underlying mathematical models. One of the key insights behind synchronous programming languages is that these models can be executable and serve as the base for simulation, validation, and automatic code generation. This approach is sometimes termed Model-Based Development (MBD). The SCADE language and associated code generator allow the application of MBD in safety-critical applications. They incorporate ideas from Lustre , Lucid Synchrone , and other programming languages.