Architecture-driven embedded systems adaptation for supporting vocabulary evolution

Abstract

As the environment of a software system continuously changes, so should the system adapt to such changes for its continued success and survival. Software architecture greatly facilitates the process of software adaptation to environmental changes, since changes are then made to the components instead of the much larger system as a whole. Adaptability for embedded systems often requires techniques different from those used for non-embedded systems. This is due to the fact that embedded systems operate in a harsher environment. This paper considers software adaptability as a key non-functional requirement (NFR) for evolving systems and discusses this concept as applied to embedded systems. The strategies available to adapt an embedded system are explained by solving the practical problem of vocabulary evolution. Several adaptable software architectures for an embedded system for this problem are developed. The codes that follow from these architectures are then implemented in an embedded system and the results are discussed.