AME: an abstract middleware environment for validating networked embedded systems applications

In the development of application software for networked embedded systems a significant step to improve interoperability and reuse consisted in relying on a service layer providing an abstract interface through a well-defined programming paradigm (e.g., object-oriented, tuplespace or database). During application development this layer can provide a simulation model of the actual platform while during implementation it can be mapped onto an actual middleware. During application development the choice of the programming paradigm is driven by productivity while during deployment the choice of the middleware is driven by efficiency and availability. Keeping the same programming paradigm in these two phases limits design-space exploration while changing paradigm requires to re-write the application. In this work we describe 1) a SystemC-based service layer providing different paradigms, i.e., object-oriented and tuple space, 2) design reasons for translating the application between these paradigms, and 3) a methodology for this translation.