Verification, refinement and scheduling of real-time programs

A real-time program can be developed by refining a specification into program code. Verification of the timing properties of the program is then usually done at two levels: verification of the ordering of timed actions in the program and proof that execution of the program on a specific system will meet its timing requirements. Refinement is done within a formal model but the second step requires a different framework in which scheduling theory analysis is used and actual program execution times can be taken into account. The implementation of a program on a system is said to be feasible or schedulable if it will meet all the timing deadlines. This paper shows how the feasibility of scheduling a real-time program can also be proved as a step in the refinement of the program from its specification. Verification of this step of refinement makes use of methods from scheduling theory within a formal system development framework. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.