Modelyze: Embedding DSLs for Modeling and Analyzing Cyber-Physical Systems

David Broman

Tuesday, June 18th, 2013 at 10:30.

Polacksbacken, room 1112

Cyber-physical systems combine computations, networks, and physical processes. Modeling and analysis of such systems are vital engineering techniques to mange complexity and enable rapid prototyping. In particular, complex cyber-physical systems are heterogenous, requiring various model of computations. A key challenge is to provide both expressive modeling capabilities and mechanisms for analyzing these heterogenous systems. This talk explores a solution to this challenge based on domain-specific embedded languages. We introduce a host language, named Modelyze, in which various domain-specific modeling languages may be embedded. The key features of Modelyze are first-class functions, which provide a mechanism to abstract components of a model, and typed symbolic expressions, to represent and manipulate equations and expressions. The type system for symbolic expressions supports model-level static error checking and provides an automatic lifting translation to provide seamless integration between the host language and the equations represented by symbolic expressions. The type system is based on gradual typing, enabling early static checking for model engineers while providing expressiveness for domain experts.

David Broman is currently a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley, USA, working in the Ptolemy group at the Electrical Engineering & Computer Science department. He is an assistant professor at Linköping University in Sweden, where he also received his PhD in computer science in 2010. David's research interests include programming and modeling language theory, compiler technology, software engineering, and mathematical modeling and simulation of cyber-physical systems. He has worked five years within the software security industry, co-founded the EOOLT workshop series, and is member of the Modelica Association and the Modelica language design group.