Designers of telecommunications systems have been using formal specification languages such as SDL (Specification and Description Language) for many years. The benefits they offer in terms of productivity and product stability are well understood and the support provided by automated tools is improving all the time.
SDL's graphic presentation makes it easy to understand and very powerful in the expression of complex behaviour. As a result it is being used extensively in telecommunications product developments around the world. There is also a fast-growing interest in the Unified Modelling Language (UML) which, as a graphical Object Oriented Design language, complements SDL very well. While the UML is ideal for analysing and expressing requirements, SDL has the formal action semantics for describing behaviour which the UML lacks. Current tools are starting to exploit the synergy between the two languages and there are already international standardisation initiatives aimed at bringing them closer still.
In recent years, standards organisations have begun to see that there are real benefits to be gained by making more formal use of SDL within their standards. The advantages of this approach include:
The specification is unambiguous;
The executable SDL can be simulated and, thus, validated;
Manufacturers can use the SDL in electronic form as the basis for their implementations of the standard;
Tools are available to simplify the production of Test Cases in TTCN directly from the SDL.
PQM Consultants not only uses SDL as a specification language for protocols but is also involved in the elaboration of methods and guidelines for the use and validation of SDL within ETSI standards. We are taking a leading role in the development of methods for using the UML in ETSI's standards-making process.
The UML is primarily intended to be a language for software engineering but we have successfully used it in the broader area of systems engineering.
More information about the specification of the
UML and SDL can be obtained from the
Object Management Group (OMG)
and the
There are a number of commercial suppliers offering software tools that support SDL and the UML.
| Supplier | UML | SDL |
| Aonix Software | ¬ | |
| Artisan Software | ¬ | |
| Cinderella | ¬ | |
| I-Logix | ¬ | |
| Platinum Technologies | ¬ | |
| Prosa Software | ¬ | |
| Rational Software Corporation | ¬ | |
| Select Software | ¬ | |
| Sterling Software | ¬ | |
| Telelogic | ¬ | ¬ |
| Verilog 1 | ¬ | ¬ |
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