Comprehensive specification of distributed systems using I5 and IOA

Abstract

Low level di_culties in the development of dis_ tributed systems that are due to non_standard com_ munication protocols and incompatible components or platforms have largely been solved through standardiza_ tion and commoditization of protocols and platforms_ Distributed systems are being designed at higher levels of sophistication these days_ and having an expressive yet usable speci_cation language is a valuable tool_ IOA is a formal language for specifying the seman_ tics of distributed systems_ Ið€€€ is a speci_cation frame_ work for architectural de_nition of distributed systems_ also intended as a basis for con_guration management_ Ið€€€ has _ve levels that specify mainly the structural characteristics at di_erent levels of abstraction_ but Ið€€€ does not address the semantics or dynamics of dis_ tributed systems interactions_ We explore the integra_ tion of IOA and Ið€€€ to create combined speci_cations that enjoy the bene_ts of both speci_cation languages_ the _ve di_erent levels of abstraction of Ið€€€ with their structural speci_cation capabilities are enhanced by a semantic speci_cation written in IOA_ We show an ex_ ample of a speci_cation developed using IOA and Ið€€€ in an integrated way_ We consider general approaches to such integrated speci_cations and discuss the possibili_ ties and limitations of integrating IOA and Ið€€€_ as well as our future work towards the complete integration_