Programming Real-Time Applications with Signal

Paul Le Guernic (1) , Thierry Gautier (1) , Michel Le Borgne (1) , Claude Le Maire (1)

1 EP-ATR - Environnement de programmation d'applications temps réel

This paper presents the main features of the Signal language and its compiler. Designed to provide safe real time system programming, the Signal language is based on the synchronous principles. Its semantics is defined via a mathematical model of multiple-clocked flows of data and events. Signal programs describe relations on such objects, so that it is possible to program a real time application via constraints. The compiler calculates the solutions of the system and may thus be used as a proof system. Moreover, the equational approach is a natural way to derive multiprocessor executions of a program. Finally, this approach meets the intuition through a graphical interface of block-diagram style, and the system is illustrated on a speech recognition application.

Mots clés: parallel languages; program compilers; real-time systems; speech recognition; SIGNAL language; compiler; equational approach; graphical interface; multiple-clocked flows; multiprocessor executions; proof system; real time system programming; synchronous principles

Domaines: Informatique et langage [cs.CL]

Paul Le Guernic, Thierry Gautier, Michel Le Borgne, Claude Le Maire. Programming Real-Time Applications with Signal. Proceedings of the IEEE, 1991, Another look at Real-time programming, 79 (9), pp.1321-1336. ⟨10.1109/5.97301⟩. ⟨inria-00540460⟩