UML-based analysis of embedded systems using a mapping to VHDL

Methods for developing and modeling embedded systems and rigorously verifying behavior before committing to code are increasingly important. A number of object-oriented techniques and notations have been introduced but recently, it appears that the Unified Modeling Language (UML) could be a notation broad enough in scope to represent a variety of domains and gain widespread use. Currently, however, UML is only a notation, with no formal semantics attached to the individual diagrams. In order to address this problem, we have developed a framework for deriving VHDL specifications from the class and state diagrams in order to capture the structure and the behavior of embedded systems. The derived VHDL specifications enable us to perform behavior simulation of the UML models.