A denotational semantics of Simulink with higher-order UTP

• Published in: Journal of logical and algebraic methods in programming Vol. 130; p. 100809
• Main Authors: Xu, Xiong, Zhan, Bohua, Wang, Shuling, Talpin, Jean-Pierre, Zhan, Naijun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.01.2023; Elsevier
• Subjects: Computer Science; Cyber-physical systems; Denotational semantics; Mathworks Simulink; Model-based design; Unifying theory of programming; Cyber-physical systems; Unifying theory of programming; Model-based design; Denotational semantics; Mathworks Simulink; cyber-physical systems; model-based design cyber-physical systems unifying theory of programming denotational semantics Mathworks Simulink; model-based design; denotational semantics; unifying theory of programming
• ISSN: 2352-2208
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jlamp.2022.100809

Matlab/Simulink is a de-facto industrial standard for modelling embedded systems. Reflecting the complexity of cyber-physical system (CPS) design, the semantics of Simulink is complex, mixing discrete and continuous time and events. In this paper, we define a compositional semantics of hierarchical Simulink diagrams using Higher-order Unifying Theories of Programming (HUTP) for CPS design. The HUTP theory satisfies the suitable algebraic properties to serve as a mathematical foundation for expressing the semantics of CPSs, in particular Simulink diagrams. We characterise a class of well-formed Simulink diagrams and prove the determinacy of their HUTP semantics. Moreover, we construct a framework for proving the consistency between Simulink diagrams and their translation to HCSP (Hybrid Communicating Sequential Processes). Finally, we provide a case study to illustrate and justify this translation.