Introduction to the Special Issue on Automatic Program Generation for Embedded Systems

摘要

This special issue contains three papers devoted to the automatic generation of programs for embedded systems. Automatic program generation is a form ofmeta-programming, where a high-level program is automatically generated for the programmer using some program generator tool. Embedded systems are a natural target for automatic program generation. Program generator tools may range from simple pre-processors through to complete implementations of new languages, or to tools that build a software product line from libraries of components, tailoring the final software to the specific needs of the product. The special issue arose out of a workshop on automatic program generation for embedded systems, held in Salzburg, Austria in late 2007. Following the workshop, an open call was issued for extended, journal quality papers to explore key issues associated with this emerging and increasingly important research area.