An XSLT-Based Proposal to Ease Embedded Critical Systems Tools Implementation, Verification, Validation, Testing, and Certification Efforts

Implementing embedded critical system tools using general-purpose programming languages usually challenges conformance to relevant standards. This letter proposes implementing tools that manipulate a system model expressed in XML using the Extensive Stylesheet Language Transformations (XSLT) and related technologies playing specific roles in a particular sequence developed to ease verification, validation, testing, and certification efforts. XSLT is a data-centric, domain-specific language that produces a more straightforward tool implementation, thus reducing human errors. We will introduce the proposal by reviewing, as an example, the reimplementation of a tool initially written in Python that automatically generates the VHDL source code of an embedded critical system. Finally, we will compare both implementations, noting compelling results.