D4 - Langage et gEnie logiciel - Language and Software Engineering
Sandrine BLAZY (Pr. Université de Rennes 1)

Présenation en anglais.

The research domain of the Language and Software Engineering Department is the study of software concepts, languages, methods and tools to build safe, secure and efficient software that is operating in dynamic and increasingly unpredictable environments. This field of research has been well established for at least 50 years, with key challenges lying in discovering new ways of decomposing and composing software. This is a never ending quest for modularity mechanisms supporting modular-* (i.e. modular design, modular composition, modular reasoning, modular verification, modular evolution, modular dynamic adaptation, etc.) on many dimensions, such as functional, extra-functional, Timeliness, Safety, Security, QoS, etc.
The recent convergence between embedded systems and distributed systems also induces new challenges in terms of self-management and security, in addition to the traditional issues of efficiency and functional correctness.
The department activities aim at covering several important aspects of software development, from the design of the software using model-driven engineering, to its implementation using modular, component-based and aspect-oriented programming techniques. A particular emphasis is put on the validation techniques (proof, testing, model checking) for the software and on the development of the machine-checked programming tools (compilers, program transformers and analysers) to automate this implementation process.

The overall goal of this research theme is to provide the scientific foundations and the accompanying technology for constructing safe, secure and efficient software in evermore dynamic and unpredictable environments. A particular emphasis is put on software for embedded systems ranging from small devices such as home automation products (thermostats, boilers, etc.) or automotive systems (engine controllers or ABS) ; to medium sized systems such as medical equipment, office equipment (printers, routers), household appliances (microwave ovens, washing machines, TV sets, DVD players/recorders, set-top-boxes), smart phones; up to large systems such as avionics systems, intelligent building automation, telecom switches or even mission critical distributed systems such as crisis management systems and other Service Oriented Architectures.

Les équipes de recherche de ce département sont : • CELTIQUE • ESPRESSO • S4 • TRISKELL