CDL1, a Computer Description Language. Part I. The Nature of the Description Language and Organization of Descriptions. Part Ii. Kinds of Descriptions of a Computing System

摘要

Part I of this report introduces some of the basic principles that guided us in the development of the Computer Description Language, CDL1. The language is addressed totally to the creation of a descriptive data base of a computing system, which could be used for a variety of design aid applications. The nature of CDL1 and the organization of descriptions based on an object classification scheme are discussed. It is shown that the classification of an object name is relevant to the way the name would be defined, and the way the definition would be filed. Part II discusses the levels of abstraction at which a system could be described, and the significance of such descriptions in a design environment. Our interest here is to investigate how, for a system with a given abstract architecture, its detailed specification evolves during design. We wish to identify the significant stages of design, consider modes of descriptions appropriate for each design stage, and relate the descriptions to the design problems faced by the designers at each stage. At the end of design we wish to obtain an analytic description of the system. The concepts are discussed with a running example. (Author)