Using domain-specific modeling languages for medical device development

Verislav Djukić, Djukic Software GmbH; Aleksandar Popović, University of Montenegro; and Juha-Pekka Tolvanen, MetaCase
embedded.com (March 08, 2014)

Domain-Specific Languages have become a common tool in the toolbox of software developers. There is a natural reason for this: they are more expressive and therefore tackle complexity better, making software development easier and more convenient. They can also raise the level of abstraction from raw implementation code to the actual problem domain. Designs and specifications expressed with the higher-level problem domain concepts make specifications easier to create, check and communicate with. Most importantly, together with domain-specific generators, they can automate the creation of production code.

When companies start using domain-specific languages, they often want to utilize existing languages and specifications along with related components and legacy code. Through a concrete example from a medical domain, we describe how existing languages for Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), like IEC 61131-3 structured text or function block diagrams, can be extended with domain-specific constructs.

We also demonstrate native code building for the run-time system (RTS), targeting both Intel and ARM processors, and managing HMI components for monitoring measurement and control processes. The high-level languages are not only used for design and code generation, but also when debugging and profiling, or even incremental specification and execution “on the fly”. We conclude by describing our experiences of creating the domain-specific language and of using it in production.

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