TL: a system-level specification language for system analysis

Analysis of the system-level specifications of embedded systems improves finding a better implementation. The specification language Task Level, custom tailored for designers, can specify the functional and temporal behaviour of the system. The language semantics and thus the design specification semantics are defined with Coloured Petri nets. A graphical toolbox using these nets generates performance information and utilization rates of resources. This information is used to rearrange the specification to get a more efficient implementation. It is easy to rearrange a specification in TL. This simplicity in the specification language requires complex modelling strategies in Coloured Petri nets. Fortunately, the designer never sees these nets.