CoDex: coherent tool support for design-space exploration

Embedded Systems Innovation by TNO (TNO-ESI) developed three generic tools that are actively being professionalized to improve industrial applicability: POOSL, Trace, and De-sign Framework (DF). With the help of the three tools, a designer can design complex embedded systems by specifying systems requirements with DF, developing and debugging models with the POOSL, simulating models with the POOSL simulator and visualizing analysis results with the TRACE. However, there is no integrated environment to support these three tools to work together and the space of possible solutions is normally very large, i.e., many design alternatives exist. As a consequence, conducting a manual exhaustive search of the design space is prohibitive and automated DSE techniques have to be used to find a "good" solutions. The project proposes a prototype to demonstrate cooperation between the three tools to conduct automated DSE. The report describes the process of design and implementation of a new tool, Exploration Experiment. With help of the new tool, user can provide the system all design alternatives of interest at once and system conducts automated DSE with help of the three tools to help the user to find "good" design solution.