An Ada model for the specification of control systems

At present, design teams which need to produce animated specifications of control systems have to write their models from scratch. Usually this is done in an ad hoc manner, rather than exploiting generic results from computer science. This article proposes a formal model, for use in practical projects, based on extensions to the ´Parnas (A7) dataflow model´ of computation. The model is described using Ada generic packages, which need instantiation for the project in hand. An example of automotive throttle control is used to illustrate the method.<>