A formal event structuring approach to real-time design

The use of formal notations in the development of real-time systems is discussed. The basic idea is to have a number of formal notations in which the designer stepwise can refine the given specification. For each of the formal notations more and more design decisions are made and noted for a limited aspect of the problem. The other design decisions will then be postponed to a later stage of development where that aspect is taken into account. An example of how such formal notations could be defined for the design of real-time systems is given. The idea behind these notations is based on an event-action model, and it is therefore most appropriate for the development of reactive systems. The stepwise development idea is illustrated by the CEDER method