State based models raise the level of abstraction at which systems are described from the program source code level to a more design-oriented level. The goal of this raised abstraction level is to allow larger-scale systems to be developed and managed with the same level of effort as smaller systems expressed at lower levels of abstraction. Many embedded systems, such as those developed by the SLIM project's industrial partners, are constructed from state based models. Unfortunately, as the scale of what can be handled increases, there is an inevitable commensurate increase in expectations and the demands placed upon the model. It is human nature to push systems and approaches to the bounds of what can be withstood. As an example of this "size problem", one of the models for describing a phone system, currently used by the SLIM industrial project partner Motorola, runs to nearly 700 pages. The SLIM project will develop algorithms, methods and techniques for scaling down the size and complexity of a model using a techniques called slicing. Traditionally, slicing has only been applied to program source code, not to state based models. The SLIM project reformulates slicing so that it can be used to scale down models, thereby addressing the model size problem. The research challenge is to develop new theories, methods and algorithms for program slicing to raise it to the state-based level of abstraction.

Prof. Mark Harman

• Kelly Androutsopoulos
• Zheng Li
• Soo Ling Lim

• Motorola UK

This project is funded by the EPSRC.