A NEW PROGRAMMING PARADIGM FOR ENGINEERING DESIGN SOFTWARE

Currently available programming and database systems are insufficient for engineering applications. The authors contend that a logical progression from a formal conceptual model of the engineering domain to a computational model will lead to new programming paradigms capable of directly supporting engineering applications in a rigorous, concise manner. A formal domain model devised by the authors, the Hybrid Model (HM) of design information, is briefly introduced. It is an extension of axiomatic set theory and is discussed in detail elsewhere. HM forms the basis of Designer, a prototype-based object-oriented programming language supporting a signature-based canonical message-passing mechanism and multiple inheritance. Designer is implemented using the Scheme programming language. Because Designer satisfies a formal conceptual model, and because it is based on a formally specified language, its robustness and logical validity are superior to those of other languages not founded on formal principles. Designer combines concepts of functional and object-oriented programming to provide the formal rigor and flexibility to capture the complex and strongly interrelated information that designers use. Examples demonstrate how Designer represents design information. The results of the authors' research indicate that Designer can capture design information (including aspects of functional requirements and design intent) effectively and efficiently.