Model-based Reasoning for System and Software Engineering: the Knowledge from Pictures (kfp) Environment

Abstrac t In this article we discuss a graphical, model-based reasoning environment for the acquisition of system design knowledge and use of this knowledge to perform model analysis, model simulation, and software synthesis. The environment consists of a graphical editor, a framework for adding new tools, and a collection of model-based reasoning tools. The graphical editor allows an analyst to describe the components and relationships present in the system they wish to model in a language that is common to all the tools in the environment. This information is then available for use by any of the tools in the environment. Three tools have been built: a simulator, a model verifier, and a fault monitoring system generator. Each of these is discussed in the article. Lastly, we give a discussion of future directions for the KFP environment.