Title:    Software Synthesis for Trade-off Design


Authors:  Akiyoshi Sato, Masato Miki, Toru Yamanouchi, Masanobu Watanabe
Email:    {a-sato, miki, yamano, watanabe}@swl.cl.nec.co.jp


Abstract:


This paper details a case study of trade-off design in software
synthesis.  Domain-oriented software synthesis technology enables
software designers to encode their own specific knowledge of software
design into transformation rules. Thus, generated software is optimal
and actually usable for the domain. However, optimal implementation
cannot be decided in advance if performance specifications, e.g.,
memory size limits and execution time limits, are unclear. That is, it
is difficult to develop transformation rules which generate optimal
software for their domain or situation if performance requirements are
unclear beforehand.


This paper proposes a method of trade-off design in software
synthesis, and applies this method to develop a file access program
generator called POT-DB. The proposed method includes procedures for
(1) extracting trade-off parameters as input specifications, (2)
designing transformation rules for trade-off parameters to generate
programs, and (3) designing performance measurement rules to allow
designers to notice the effects of trade-off parameters.  Based on the
results of applying POT-DB in developing a sales analysis and ordering
system, all performance requirements have been satisfied, and
application productivity has been improved 1.9 times. Moreover, it is
shown that total productivity including the development cost for the
POT-DB itself can be improved if POT-DB is applied to at least four
application systems. The developed sales analysis and ordering system
has been in daily operation with over 10,000 portable terminals at
more than one hundred branch stores.


Presenter: Akiyoshi Sato