'Real-World' Properties in the Requirements for Embedded Systems

摘要

This paper addresses a central issue in the specification of requirements for embedded systems: How can the ragged and open-ended properties of the 'real world' be usefully included in a coherent, closed requirements specification. Certainly the term 'embedded system' is closely associated with the physical properties of computing environments, such as time and hardware reliability. Section 2 argues that emphasis on real-world, or physical, properties defines embedded systems, so that the role of these properties in requirements specification for embedded systems is indeed central. Section 3 sketches an approach to the requirements problem which should be well suited to the inclusion of physical attributes, but explains that a nagging problem remains. Section 4 presents a trial solution to this problem.