A toolset for Simulink: Improving software engineering practices in development with Simulink

Abstract

This paper presents a set of tools that provide automatic support for application of some of the traditional software engineering practices when developing with Simulink. The tools are the: Signature Tool, Reach/Coreach Tool, Data Store Push-Down Tool, and Auto Layout Tool. The Signature Tool extracts the interface of a Simulink subsystem, identifying the subsystem's explicit, and implicit data flow mechanisms, empowering developers to use the implicit mechanisms more effectively. The Reach/Coreach Tool identifies data and control flow dependencies in a Simulink model and uses the information for model slicing. The view of dependencies offered by the tool significantly eases the comprehension of large models. The dependencies can also serve as indicators of alternative designs, and facilitate more effective testing and verification. The Data Store Push-Down Tool restricts the scope of Simulink's data stores thereby providing improved encapsulation, and increasing modularity. Finally, the Auto Layout Tool significantly decreases the manual effort developers spend in achieving proper layout of models during design and refactoring, and can be used by automated refactoring and transformation tools.