An ADL-Approach to Specifying and Analyzing Centralized-Mode Architectural Connection

Abstract

A rigorous paradigm coordinating components is important in the design stage of large-scale software engineering. In this paper we propose a new Architecture Description Language, called ACDL, to represent the centralized-mode architectural connection in which all components are linked by a single connector. Following one usual approach to architectural description, in which component types and components are distinguished, and connectors integrate behaviors of components by specifying their coordination protocols, ACDL describes connectors in such a way that connectors are insensitive to the numbers of attached same-type components. Based on ACDL, we develop analytic techniques to facilitate the system checking of temporal properties of an architecture. In particular, our method shows to what extent one can add, delete and replace components without making the whole system lose desired temporal properties, and improves the system checking in several ways, for example enhancing the use of previous checking results to deal with new checking problems.