ions Chris Marlin & Michael Oudshoorn Department of Computer Science The University of Adelaide G.P.O. Box 498 Adelaide, S.A. 5001 Australia Dennis Freidel Hewlett Packard -- Colorado Networks Division 3404 East Harmony Road Fort Collins, Colorado 80525 U.S.A. Abstract Language-level concurrency is becoming more widely available in programming languages, placing parallel programming features in the hands of many programmers for the first time. Unfortunately, the precise semantics of these features is frequently not well understood, principally because of the informal way in which such features are described. Typical of such informal description techniques is the manner in which technical English is used in the Ada Language Reference Manual to define the tasking facilities of Ada. This paper describes a formal model of the intertask communication aspect of the programming langauge Ada. The model is an information structure model whose precision is based on the use of shared data a...

ions Dennis Freidel Hewlett Packard -- Colorado Networks Division Chris Marlin yz & Michael Oudshoorn y The University of Adelaide April 30, 1998 Abstract Descriptions of parallel programming languages are typically presented in an entirely informal manner; similar informal descriptive techniques are usually also the basis of comparisons between parallel programming languages. Such informal descriptions frequently lead to misunderstandings about the programming languages being described, and how they relate to one another. In this paper, we use shared data abstractions, an extension of abstract data types for parallel programming, as the basis for a model of inter-task communication in the programming language Ada. This approach leads to a precise description of the inter-task communication facility of Ada, as well as offering a basis upon which to compare parallel programming languages. Categories and Subject Descriptors: D.3.1 [Programming Languages]: Formal Definitions and Th...

ATLANTIS is a tool for the semi-automatic generation of interpretive language implementations from formal semantic definitions. This tool was originally designed to facilitate the implementation of sequential programming languages and the present paper describes how it has been adapted to also generate implementations of parallel programming languages. ATLANTIS is founded on a layered, information structure model and this paper examines the changes introduced into each layer of the model, focussing on the structure of the generated parse tree and the nature of the parallel interpreter generated from the programming language definition. 1.Introduction As the demand for more reliable software increases, so too does the need for formal definitions of programming languages. The difficulty experienced by language designers is that existing formalisms offer little assistance in the language design and implementation process. In fact, formalisms such as attribute grammars, 9,21 denotational s...

A recent trend in improved support for software engineering activities is the increasing use of integrated software engineering environments (ISEEs), in which various specific software engineering tools cooperate to facilitate the software development process. A number of integration frameworks which purport to support cooperation between tools have been proposed and marketed. This paper describes and compares, in an informal manner, some of the available ISEE frameworks, namely Hewlett-Packard's SoftBench and Digital Equipment Corporation's Cohesion strategy, and a relevant standardisation effort, PCTE. It also outlines a formal, object-oriented model for the description of tool interaction within ISEEs.

A recent trend in improved support for software engineering activities is the increasing use of integrated software engineering environments (ISEEs), in which various specific software engineering tools cooperate to facilitate the software development process. A number of integration frameworks which purport to support cooperation between tools have been proposed and marketed. The challenge facing organisations considering the purchase of a commercial integration framework is the assessment of the capabilities of an environment; once these are understood, comparisons between environments can be made and the extent to which a framework supports and the ease with which it can be tailored to suit organisational and project needs can be judged. Current standards and classifications support only the description of frameworks at a non-functional level. This paper outlines an approach to modelling tool interaction within ISEEs. Keywords: integration frameworks, tool integration, integrated so...