Towards a domain-specific language for developing concurrent applications using bip framework

Abstract

Concurrent systems play a crucial role in modern software development, enabling applications to handle multiple tasks simultaneously and improve performance by utilizing the full potential of modern hardware. The Behavior-Interaction-Priority (BIP) framework is a model-driven approach for designing and verifying concurrent and distributed systems. To apply BIP in system design, designers first analyze the system's requirements to construct BIP connectors, describing the coordination between the system's components. Based on these connectors, developers create a BIP model for verification and JavaBIP artifacts for implementation following an exogenous approach. However, constructing the BIP connectors and creating BIP/JavaBIP artifacts require expertise in formal methods, model-driven design, and concurrent systems. Consequently, the developers might need to invest time and effort to learn the framework and associated tools. In this work, we propose a novel mechanism to reduce developers' manual efforts when applying the BIP framework, including (1) a pseudo-natural language for specifying behavioral constraints without learning the BIP framework and (2) a compiler for automatically generating the BIP/JavaBIP artifacts, which are then used for developing concurrent software following the exogenous approach. We illustrate the feasibility of our approach by applying NaturalBIP to OCCIwareBIP, a framework for designing, validating, and implementing concurrent cloud applications.