SOFTWARE SYNTHESIS SHELL SOFTEXSHELL AND ITS APPLICATION TO SWITCHING SERVICE SOFTWARE

To improve the productivity and quality of software development, a software synthesis shell called SOFTEXSHELL has been developed. SOFTEXSHELL is a tool kit with a transformation system based on a term rewriting system, a language DSL/C++ for defining transformation rules as well as a specification language for a specific software model, and a rule verification system which supports development of correct transformation rules. The system is designed to provide an environment which enables a broad range of software engineers to construct software synthesis systems for their domains. To evaluate how effectively SOFTEXSHELL does this, a software synthesis system for switching scenario software was developed by two switching software specialists without prior software synthesis experience. After a four-month prototype development period, a practical software synthesis system for switching service software was developed in eight months. The developed software synthesis system, SOFTEX/EX, has been utilized for developing six switching systems. Generated programs, including 272,000 steps in total, have been in daily operation. Based on the development process and developed system results, we conclude that SOFTEXSHELL enables software engineers, without prior software synthesis experience, to develop useful and efficient software synthesis systems.