Distributed Computer Control Systems 1997

Chapter headings and selected papers: Real-time Systems. The design and analysis of low-cost real-time fieldbus systems (M.G. Rodd et al.). Modeling for Distributed Computer Control Systems. A semantics-preserving transformation of statecharts to FNLOG (A. Sowmya, S. Ramesh). Applications in Distributed Computer Control Systems I. Easy implementation of distributed control systems by intelligent nodes and automatic code generation (J.A. Frutos-Redondo, J.M. Giron-Sierra). Fieldbus Network for Real-Time Control. Evaluation of network protocol for automotive data communication (Jung-a Yun et al.). Real-Time Network for Distributed Control. An extended TDP/IP protocol over the local area network for DCCS (J. Park et al.). Applications in Distributed Computer Control Systems II. Control blocks for distributed control systems (R. Schoop, H-D Ferling). Keynote Paper. Component-based design of large distributed real-time systems (H. Kopetz). Architecture for Distributed Control Systems. Effect of dynamic structuring on distributed control system performance (A. Stothert, I.M. MacLeod). Author index.

It is increasingly accepted that future dependable, real-time digital computer control systems will have distributed architectures. Advantages of distributed computer control systems include the possibility of composing large systems out of pre-tested components with minimal integration effort, their well-defined fault containment properties and their capacity to make effective use of mass-produced silicon chips.

The IFAC Workshop series on Distributed Computer Control Systems (DCCS) focuses on design requirements and fundamental principles encountered in such systems and highlights and traces the growth of key concepts at their various stages of development. Theoretical and application-oriented viewpoints receive equal emphasis. These Workshops also provide an excellent forum for the exchange of information on recent technological advances and practices in the distributed computer control field.

The 1997 DCCS Workshop was notable for the attention given to practical implementations of ideas that have been under discussion for decades and maintained the high technical standard set by previous Workshops in the series - the policy of concentrating on a specific topic, inviting a number of key authors and of accepting only a limited number of papers paid dividends.

For researchers and practitioners with an interest in the design requirements and principles of distributed computer control systems.