Model-based design languages: A case study

Fast-paced innovation in the embedded systems domain puts an ever increasing pressure on effective software development methods, leading to the growing popularity of Model-Based Design (MBD). In this context, a proper choice of modeling languages and related tools-depending on design goals and problem qualities-is crucial to make the most of MBD benefits. In this paper, a comparison between two dissimilar approaches to modeling is carried out, with the goal of highlighting their relative advantages and shortcomings. It focuses on a case study involving a well-known distributed agreement protocol, a choice motivated by the fact that embedded systems are nowadays quickly evolving towards distributed, fault-tolerant architectures.