Synthesis of Component and Connector Models from Crosscutting Structural Views

TL;DR

This paper introduces C&C views for specifying system structures abstractly, and presents a SAT-based synthesis method to generate concrete models from these views, supporting design exploration and code generation.

Contribution

It proposes a novel approach for synthesizing component and connector models from expressive crosscutting views, extending the methodology with patterns, styles, and library components.

Findings

Synthesis problem is NP-hard but solvable with SAT reduction.

Prototype tool successfully applied to four example systems.

Supports partial knowledge and stakeholder perspectives in system design.

Abstract

We present component and connector (C&C) views, which specify structural properties of component and connector models in an expressive and intuitive way. C&C views provide means to abstract away direct hierarchy, direct connectivity, port names and types, and thus can crosscut the traditional boundaries of the implementation-oriented hierarchical decomposition of systems and sub-systems, and reflect the partial knowledge available to different stakeholders involved in a system's design. As a primary application for C&C views we investigate the synthesis problem: given a C&C views specification, consisting of mandatory, alternative, and negative views, construct a concrete satisfying C&C model, if one exists. We show that the problem is NP-hard and solve it, in a bounded scope, using a reduction to SAT, via Alloy. We further extend the basic problem with support for library components, specification patterns, and architectural styles. The result of synthesis can be used for further exploration, simulation, and refinement of the C&C model or, as the complete, final model itself, for direct code generation. A prototype tool and an evaluation over four example systems with multiple specifications show promising results and suggest interesting future research directions towards a comprehensive development environment for the structure of component and connector designs.