The research presented in this Thesis aims to fill the gap between the principles used in the development of numerical software for computer-aided control system analysis and design and one of the novel software enginering principles; the object-oriented paradigm. The state-of-the-art in computer-aided control system analysis and design is based on FORTRAN code libraries that provide poor support for the actual data-types found in control systems design and are difficult to use safely. Although recent advances in Computer Science, such as object-oriented programming, already play an important role in the development of computer-aided control system design tools, their scope has been mainly limited to the user interface, database management and graphical data presentation. The object-oriented paradigm also has the potential to enable the writing of fast and efficient numerical software for control systems analysis and design which has not yet been sufficiently explored. In this Thesis it is shown how the object-oriented paradigm can be used to overcome some of the existing problems by providing a data-oriented rather than a functional view of a software library's contents. The rapidly developing theory of abstract data types is the foundation on which this work is laid. Abstract data types provide a language and implementation independent means of specifying data structures in terms of the functionality that they provide. The discussion also highlights some important questions that have to be asked when developing object-oriented software - such as how memory management and exceptions are to be handled - and offers some solutions. One of the main challenges in developing new software for control systems analysis and design is how to choose a strategy, tools and a software structure, that will preserve the investments made in the past in high quality software. The object-oriented paradigm offers a safe and efficient way of reusing existing software and also brings efficiency and convenience to both the developer and the end user of control engineering software.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:635789 |
| Date | January 1994 |
| Creators | Antonov, R. B. |
| Publisher | Swansea University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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