ECE Senior Design Team 1702 Project Proposal

Transcription

1 ECE Senior Design Team 1702 Project Proposal Qualtech Systems Inc. Modeling Converter Jay Meyer (EE) Andrew Morse (EE/CSE) Will Salguero (EE) Brandon Singleton (CSE)

2 SUMMARY Qualtech s TEAMS-Designer (T-D) software models complex systems and allows for specification of input and output parameters, failure probabilities, module interdependencies, required technical repair levels, and repair costs. Mathworks Matlab (Simulink), which is used by many of Qualtech s customers, models many of the same aspects, but in fundamentally different ways. The problem we as a team are solving is converting an existing Simulink model into a T-D model, maintaining maximum integrity of the original model, while incorporating all T-D functionality. Our success depends on the program s ability to recognize all of the possible Simulink modeling components and functions, and mapping those to modules and attributes that are recognized by T-D. Since there is no direct one-to-one conversion, there will inevitably be some functionality lost in the translation, so another metric of success is to minimize these losses to the greatest extent possible and to output a comprehensive list of these losses to the user. This loss list will be critical in assessing the success of the conversion and in showing ways in which the software conversion could be improved. BACKGROUND The first step in this design project was to familiarize ourselves with the concept and uses of an XML file. To summarize, XML, short for extensible Markup Language, is a language very similar to HTML and is an industry standard for uniformly storing and transporting data. The point of an XML file is not to perform any direct function, but rather to format information. This information is wrapped in tags that are standardized and easily identified. The relevancy of this language/file type to us is that both Matlab s Simulink software and Teams Designer have an export to and import from XML feature for every model they create. Although the XML files can not do any conversions of their own, there is a styling language that can be used to breakdown an XML and transform it into an XML of a different format, and this styling is known as XML Stylesheet Language, or XSL. XSL is very similar to XML in that it uses many of the same features and formatting 1

3 schemes, but it is different from XML in one very vital way. XSL is made of up three parts, the XPath or language that is recognized by XSL, XSL Formating Option (FO), and XSLT or XSL Transformation. XSLT is what allows the XSL to extract information from an XML and convert into another style of formatting. With this in mind we plan to extract the Simulink model XML and perform a transformation on it using the XSLT that we create. The resulting XML will exist in a format that can be uploaded and run on T-D. OUR PROPOSAL We now have the necessary tools to create a program to operate within the scope of our project. We have access to the Simulink libraries as well as Simulink test models. We have the means of exporting, via Matlab s built-in functionality, an XML document describing the Simulink model. We have a T-D schema against which we can compare the Simulink XML for the means of converting. By the end of the project we will have a means of importing a converted XML document into T-D. So, our task becomes to create an XSLT that will recognize the Simulink models and convert them to their corresponding T-D modules. There are several existing software solutions to assist in creating XSLT documents (some of these are outlined in the Budget section). For our purpose they are all essentially the same so our choice of which one to use will be a matter of personal preference, ease of use/debugging, and budgetary concerns. Each of these programs also has built-in functionality for performing the conversion (transform), but for the purpose of our project we will need to create our own program to accomplish this. Fortunately, every major programming language (Java, C, C++) has its own built-in, and more importantly customizable, interface for performing transformations. Our deliverable becomes this: a self-contained executable file that takes as input a Simulink XML document, performs the transformation, outputs the loss list and the T-D XML, verifies the transformation, and converts the XML into the T-D TMSX file type. Our preliminary tests have all been positive; we have created an XSLT that can take a simple Simulink model and accurately represent it in T-D. We are continuing to improve this transformation document and have begun work on the executable program for performing further verification and output tasks. Below is a sample of our success so far. 2

4 An example of our XSL Stylesheet vs a model XML output file. The format of the XSL on the left can be seen to be very similar to the XML on the right, showing how the document transforms the Simulink XML file format into the T-D file format. An example output from the XSL transformation into T-D versus the same model previously created in Teams Designer. The differences are highlighted and seen to be minimal. Only the randomly generated strings and names/dates/times of creation are different. This shows how closely the transformation can get to the format that T-D will accept. 3

5 PROJECT MANAGEMENT We are managing this project in several ways. With all of the new code updates from 5 different people, we setup a github repository so that we could keep every update straight. The company advisor from Qualtech closely follows our updates, as well as suggests new idea to help us. If we ever need any information from Qualtech he is always close by to help or look into any issues on his end. As a group we meet biweekly to discuss and work on the project, and in between we delegate tasks to each one of us or a group of us so that progress can be made on a weekly basis consistently. MILESTONES The graphic below shows the process in transforming an XML file from the Simulink format to the T-D format. Currently we are in the process of developing the converter. The next big milestone for us will be the completion of this converter, which entails a proper and complete conversion on a very simple model. After that we intend to create and develop the verifier tool, which will properly inform the user of everything that was, and was not, converted. Looking further ahead we plan to add more and more functionality to both modules of the process, such as adding more model types and toolboxes to the conversion dictionary, and adding any Java functions that may need to be used in the XML transform. The final milestone will be the final packaging of every piece of the software into one succinct executable. In this format, we will be moving back and forth through the project and developing both the converter and the verifier in tandem to ensure maximum functionality between both programs and both modules of the conversion process. 4

6 BUDGET In creating this transform process, we have come across many different tools that aid the manipulation and creation of XML files. These tools, as well as their properties and prices were all collected into one comparison chart, which can be seen below. PERSONNEL Jay is a senior Electrical Engineering student at UConn. Through both school and work he has developed experience working in C/C++, Java, Simulink/Matlab, and the TEAMS software suite. While at UConn, he has taken classes focused in numerical methods for computation, hardware design and software. Through the senior design project, Jay hopes to improve his leadership and coding skill set. Andrew is a senior double majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering at UConn. In school he has taken many classes focusing on programming languages including Matlab, Python, Java, C/C++, VHDL and Assembly. He has also taken time to study security algorithms, hardware security and FPGAs. Personally he enjoys developing small games and programs based around cutting edge hardware, as well as learning more about computer hardware and software. 5

7 Will is a senior majoring in Electrical engineering at UConn. He has experience in C++, Matlab, and Java. Although his primary focus is more on the hardware side, still has a lot of experience in coding and software programming. For this design project and previous class projects he has been seeking information to become a better coder and has been able to learn a lot. Brandon is a senior in the Computer Science and Engineering department and is due to graduate in the Spring of His school experience consists of all required computer architecture, programming, and algorithm courses primarily in Java but also in C++. His personal focus is in mathematical analysis and computer and network security. He is a 10-year veteran of the U.S. Navy and has operated and maintained a host of Windows- and Linux-based government proprietary operating systems. 6