Developing a Toolset Supporting the Construction of Reusable Components for Embedded Control Systems

Reusing software components for embedded control applications enhances product quality and reduces time to market when appropriate (formal) methodologies and supporting toolsets are available. That is why industrial companies are interested in developing trusted, in-house reusable components for specific areas of application. This creates a demand for tools supporting the construction of reusable components, with various artifacts produced automatically out of component models and deposited into a repository. Thus, pre-fabricated and ready to use components can be reused to fabricate applications. That demand can be satisfied by a highly customized toolset providing an integrated development environment for rapid graphical component specification, component validation, automatic generation of artifacts and documentation. The paper presents a possible solution for creating a customized toolset based on open-source technology, in accordance with industrial requirements, as well as the approach used to engineer a toolset supporting component development for embedded control applications.