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A partial evaluator for the Maruti hard real-time system

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Abstract

The use of high-level programming constructs (such as recursion, loops, and dynamic data structures) makes it difficult to estimate at compile-time the execution time and resource requirements of a program. We contend thatpartial evaluation provides a solution to this problem. Given a real-time program employing high level language constructs, partial evaluation uses information about the execution environment to create a specialized program tailored for that particular environment. Specialized programs can be better analyzed to estimate accurately the execution time and resource requirements. Our techniques offer substantially greater power and flexibility to the programmer than previous estimation techniques for real-time systems.

This paper describes the application of partial evaluation to programming languages for hard-real-time systems, gives examples of programs handled by our techniques, discusses how the system appears from a user's perspective, provides an overview of the partial evaluation techniques employed using examples and describes some limitations of our techniques and possible solutions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IBM Corporation, 1000 51st St., 33429, Boca Raton, FL

    Vivek Nirkhe

  2. Department of Computer Science and Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, University of Maryland, 20742, College Park, MD

    William Pugh

Authors
  1. Vivek Nirkhe
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  2. William Pugh
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Nirkhe, V., Pugh, W. A partial evaluator for the Maruti hard real-time system. Real-Time Syst 5, 13–30 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01088695

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