PCL: A configuration language for modelling evolving system architectures

The paper describes a configuration language called PCL which has been designed to describe the architecture of multiple versions of computer-based systems. PCL is compared with other configuration languages and its features are illustrated by example. The features of PCL which are discussed here are its ability to model hardware and software in an integrated way, its provision of multiple structured architectural views, its ability to model system variability and its integration with a number of structured design methods. A supporting toolset for PCL has been implemented and is briefly described.