Towards Mapping Control Theory and Software Engineering Properties using Specification Patterns
A traditional approach to realize self-adaptation in software engineering (SE) is by means of feedback loops. The goals of the system can be specified as formal properties that are verified against models of the system. On the other hand, control theory (CT) provides a well-established foundation for designing feedback loop systems and providing guarantees for essential properties, such as stability, settling time, and steady state error. Currently, it is an open question whether and how traditional SE approaches to self-adaptation consider properties from CT—especially challenging to answer given the fundamentally different representations of properties in both fields. In this paper, we take a first step to answer this question. We follow a bottom up approach where we specify a control design (in Simulink) for a case inspired by Scuderia Ferrari (F1) and provide evidence for stability and safety. The design is then transferred into code (in C) that is further optimized. Next, we define properties that enable us to verify whether the control properties still hold at code level. Then, we consolidate the solution by mapping the properties in both worlds using specification patterns as common language and we verify the correctness of this mapping. The mapping offers a reusable artifact to solve similar problems. Finally, we outline opportunities for future work, particularly to refine and extend the mapping and investigate how it can improve the engineering of self-adaptive systems from the viewpoint of SE and CT engineers.
Thu 30 SepDisplayed time zone: Eastern Time (US & Canada) change
11:45 - 12:40 | Languages, formal methods, and assurances for Autonomic and Self-Organizing SystemsMain Track at AUDITORIUM 2 Chair(s): Roberto Casadei University of Bologna, Italy | ||
11:45 25mPaper | Runtime Equilibrium Verification for Resilient Cyber-Physical Systems Main Track Matteo Camilli Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Raffaela Mirandola Politecnico di Milano, Patrizia Scandurra University of Bergamo, Italy | ||
12:10 15mShort-paper | A Programming Language for Sound Self-Adaptive Systems Main Track Media Attached | ||
12:25 15mVision and Emerging Results | Towards Mapping Control Theory and Software Engineering Properties using Specification Patterns Main Track Ricardo Caldas Chalmers, Razan Ghzouli Chalmers University of Technology & University of Gothenburg, Alessandro Vittorio Papadopoulos Mälardalen University, Patrizio Pelliccione Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI) and Chalmers | University of Gothenburg, Danny Weyns KU Leuven, Thorsten Berger Chalmers | University of Gothenburg Pre-print |