Design-Space Exploration through Constraint-Based Model-Transformation

Many design steps during system development - like functional partitioning, refactoring of the architecture, or the mapping to the platform - can be understood as an exploration of the solution space. Each development step is characterized by design constraints, limiting the possible solution space. By using model transformations based on a declarative, relational approach, these constraints can be formalized as transformation rules guiding a mechanized exploration of possible design alternatives. The approach is demonstrated for the (semi-)automatic, incremental deployment of logical architectures to hardware platforms.