A comparison between handwritten and automatic generation of C code from SDL using static analysis

Abstract

The experience reported in this paper relates to an evaluation of the automatic generation of C code from the Specification and Description Language (SDL) specification of embedded applications. The evaluation has been carried out by comparing the automatically generated code with the manually implemented code, both compliant to the same SDL specification: this comparison is based on a selection of metrics measured on both codes by means of commercial static analysis tools. Notwithstanding the different structure of the two codes, we appropriately selected and aggregated the obtained results in order to use them as indicators of code size, control flow complexity and integration flow complexity. For a better comparison of the two codes, we have also introduced a novel complexity metric, which compares the control flow complexity with the integration flow of the two different software architectures. The aim of the paper is not merely to evaluate the code generator used, but rather to propose a set of techniques that can be used to conduct similar evaluations.

From Design to Code: An Educational Approach

“…Becucci, et al [1] report that when implemented and used well, the automatic code generation process could aid development efficiency by reducing coding time. This in turn frees up time to spend on design, simulation, validation and testing.…”

“…This in turn frees up time to spend on design, simulation, validation and testing. The use of implementation-independent design models ensures that software is interoperable between systems [1]. The conversion can also avoid human error and guarantee correctly functioning code, which is especially important for embedded systems and safety-critical applications [9].…”

“…It is fundamentally a flexible tool to be used in conjunction with customisable teacher exercises. It includes a simple tutorial that explains the usage, for any interested readers who wish to try it out 1 .…”

“…This approach is known as Model Driven Engineering (MDE). The main advantages of MDE are its efficiency in terms of development time [1] and the reduction of human errors. This last property plays an important role in real-time embedded systems, where the slightest mistake could lead to lethal consequences [2].…”

“…However, the structure of auto-generated code is more complex than manual code, making it harder to understand and re-use [3]. It is also less efficient in terms of number of calls per executable statement, number of executable statements, and time taken by stack allocation/deallocation [1].…”