Verifying Emulation of Legacy Mission Computer Systems
Speaker: Colin Fidge, ITEE
When: 2003-08-28 10:00:00
Venue: 78-420
Host: Colin Fidge
Abstract:Processor obsolescence is a serious maintenance problem for long-lived
embedded control systems. A practical solution is to interpose an
emulator program between the legacy software and a replacement
processor, so that the old code can be reused on the new machine.
Unfortunately, no verification techniques exist for proving that the
resulting system preserves the original system's functional and timing
behaviour. A particular challenge is that processor emulation mixes
both legacy assembly code and new high-level language software
patches. Nevertheless, we show that a formalism previously used for
analysing program compilation, coupled with an understanding of the
legacy software architecture, can be used to verify key aspects of an
emulated control system.
Biography:Colin Fidge is a Principal Research Fellow in UQ's School of
Information Technology and Electrical Engineering. His research
interests include high-integrity software engineering.
Type: ITEE Seminar
Contact:Colin Fidge, seminar host (cjf@itee.uq.edu.au)
or Guido Governatori (ITEE seminar co-ordinator)
(guido@itee.uq.edu.au)