The focus of this CAREER research proposal is the design, semantics, and implementation of ATDCC, a language for a network of asynchronously communicating reactive programs. Reactive systems are tightly coupled, event-driven systems that react continuously with their environment at a rate controlled by the environment. Asynchronous systems are those in which processes are loosely coupled and communication can take arbitrary amount of time. Complex applications, arising commonly in practice, typically require the combination of both these ideas, thus motivating ATDCC. ATDCC is expected to have the following advantages: (1) support for hierarchical construction of programs/specifications; (2) good foundational properties; (3) efficient implementation as a network of asynchronously communicating automata; (4) verification of safety properties, including real time constraints. This research is aims towards the creation of a complete programming environment for modeling and analyzing complex electro-mechanical systems. This CAREER project includes active involvement in education, in conjunction with the research program. The research program itself involves the participation of students, who will benefit from the exposure to industrial experience. The education plan includes course and curriculum development, for both graduate and undergraduate students, incorporating current research in the general area of interest in the project. An undergraduate parallel programming laboratory is planned to collaborate, disseminate and share resources with institutions in the Chicago area. The laboratory and curriculum development are intended to lead to undergraduate participation in research.
