Modelling dynamic distributed system structures in PARSE

With the increasing availability of parallel and networked computers, applications based on distributed systems are gradually becoming commonplace. It is therefore important for software professionals to practice sound parallel software engineering methods. PARSE (Parallel Software Engineering) is an object-based software engineering methodology to facilitate the design of reliable and reusable parallel systems. Systems designed using PARSE are represented using a graphical notation known as process graphs, which enable process structures and their precise interactions to be hierarchically constructed. However, the current PARSE graphical notation cannot adequately handle the design of concurrent systems which incorporate dynamic features. This paper describes extensions to the present PARSE process graph notations to support the design of well-engineered distributed systems. Example designs are given to illustrate the utility of the approach, and a mapping to the Windows NT WIN32 Application Programming Interface is given