Real-Time UML: Developing Efficient Objects for Embedded Systems

Real-time systems programmers face unique challenges. Qualities such as execution speed and memory size are paramount in the development of real-time systems, and performance is a fundamental aspect of correctness in this domain. Given these constraints and requirements, it is fair to say that the development of real-time systems is more challenging than that of most software systems. Yet the lack of a standard notation and design process has discouraged embedded systems developers from adopting a revolutionary new approach to software design--object technology--that has produced clearly identifiable benefits in less specialized software applications.

With the development and wide adoption of a standard notation, the Unified Modified Language (UML), real-time systems developers can now avail themselves of the benefits and advantages of object technology. UML is a 3rd generation modeling language which rigorously defines the semantics of the object metamodel and provides a notation for capturing and communicating object structure and behavior. It is particularly well-suited to modeling real-time and embedded systems. Real-Time UML is the introduction that developers of real-time systems need to make the transition to object-oriented analysis and design and modeling with UML. It covers the important features of the UML and shows how to effectively use the UML to model real-time systems. The book includes special in-depth discussions of finite state machines, object identification strategies, and real-time design patterns to help beginning and experienced developers alike.

Bruce Powel Douglass is the Chief Evangelist for i-Logix, a leading producer of tools for real-time systems development. He contributed to the original specification of the UML and is one of the co-chairs of the Object Management Groupis Real-Time Analysis and Design Working Group. He also consults for a number of companies and organizations, including NASA, on building large-scale, real-time, safety-critical systems. He is the author of four other books, including Doing Hard Time: Developing Real-Time Systems with UML, Objects, Frameworks, and Patterns (Addison-Wesley).

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