Subject: RE: SDL-News: Can SDL be made attractive to more users?
From: Claude AUBRY (c.aubry#confluent.fr)
Date: Wed Sep 10 1997 - 14:21:31 GMT
The originator of this message is responsible for its content.
-----From Claude AUBRY <c.aubry#confluent.fr> to sdlnews -----
-----Jacqueline Floch <Jacqueline.Floch#informatics.sintef.no> [>] wrote -----
...
However I understand why some users find it difficult to use the tools and
to use SDL: SDL is complex and it takes time to get familiar to the
language.
[>]
SDL is not very difficult to learn. After a three day training an engineer is able to
begin with basic SDL. What is more difficult is the right use of SDL :
- the place in a development process : combined use of MSC and SDL, analysis or
design with SDL, level of details, coupling with other languages.
- the definition of a good system or software architecture (these topics are not very SDL specific)
- an efficient use of the capabilities offered by the simulation tools
Have the SDL users around the world developed
examples that could be collected and made available to a large public? May
be such an initiative could promote the diffusion of SDL?
[>]
I don't believe in the pedagogy of real SDL examples : they are more domain oriented and real examples are generally too complex. Furthermore SDL models are often sensitive and cannot be distributed outside a company.
Instead real models, I suggest to collect SDL patterns. They describe real and frequent problems in SDL modeling. Patterns for communication mechanisms could be very useful to new SDL users.
For the diffusion of SDL, an other question is the position in relation to UML. I just dowloaded the UML 1.1 documents. Till now SDL owned two main advantages : SDL is an international standard, and SDL is formalized, allowing simulation and complete code generation. UML1.1 can be considered as a standard and the semantics are now defined (only static semantics, but soon dynamic semantics, I quote UML document "Currently, the dynamic semantics are not considered essential for the development of tools. However, this will probably change in the future."). The actual position of SDL tool vendors (use OMT or UML for analysis and SDL for design) could be difficult to follow if UML offers the same possibilities (and maybe more) for simulation and code generation.
Regards
________________________________________________________
Claude AUBRY
c.aubry#confluent.fr ou aubry#irit.fr
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-----End text from Claude AUBRY <c.aubry#confluent.fr> to sdlnews -----
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