Array Iterators in Lustre: From a Language Extension to Its Exploitation in Validation

The design of safety critical embedded systems has become a complex task, which requires both appropriate language features and efficient validation techniques. In this work, we propose the introduction of array iterators to the synchronous dataflow language Lustre as a mean to alleviate this complexity. We propose these new operators to provide Lustre programmers with a new mean for designing regular reactive systems. We study a compilation scheme that allows us to generate efficient loop imperative code from these iterators. This language aspect of our work has been fruitful since the iterators are being introduced in the industrial version of Lustre. Finally, we propose to take these regular structures into account during the validation process. This approach has already shown its applicability on different real-life case studies. The work we relate here is thus complete in the sense that our propositions at the language level are taken into account both at the compilation and the validation levels.