Book Image

The Complete Edition - Software Engineering for Real-Time Systems

By : Jim Cooling
Book Image

The Complete Edition - Software Engineering for Real-Time Systems

By: Jim Cooling

Overview of this book

From air traffic control systems to network multimedia systems, real-time systems are everywhere. The correctness of the real-time system depends on the physical instant and the logical results of the computations. This book provides an elaborate introduction to software engineering for real-time systems, including a range of activities and methods required to produce a great real-time system. The book kicks off by describing real-time systems, their applications, and their impact on software design. You will learn the concepts of software and program design, as well as the different types of programming, software errors, and software life cycles, and how a multitasking structure benefits a system design. Moving ahead, you will learn why diagrams and diagramming plays a critical role in the software development process. You will practice documenting code-related work using Unified Modeling Language (UML), and analyze and test source code in both host and target systems to understand why performance is a key design-driver in applications. Next, you will develop a design strategy to overcome critical and fault-tolerant systems, and learn the importance of documentation in system design. By the end of this book, you will have sound knowledge and skills for developing real-time embedded systems.
Table of Contents (16 chapters)
Preface
15
Glossary of terms

14.3 System Functional Specifications

14.3.1 Overview

System functions are described broadly in three ways: block diagrams, functional diagrams, and requirements specifications, as in Figure 14.7.

14.3.2 Block Diagram Description

These are high-level documents, designed to give an overview of the total system. They consist of a series of block diagrams, augmented with text, with their primary purpose being to describe the system operation. In large or complex systems, these need to be expanded using a series of subsystem descriptions. Their purpose is to do the following:

  • Give a comprehensive description of the total system function and operation.
  • Define the physical (hardware) composition of the total system.
  • Identify the processor-based units within the total system.
  • Define the operational features of all human-computer interfaces (HCIs).
  • Identify electronic communication methods used within the system.

14.3.3 Functional Diagram Description...