ADA QUALITY TOOLSET

THIS RESEARCH WILL ADDRESS SOME KEY TECHNICAL PROBLEMS THAT WILL NEED TO BE RESOLVED BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPREHENSIVE AND FLEXIBLE SET OF ADA PROGRAM QUALITY ENHANCING TOOLS, THE ADA QUALITY TOOLSET (AQT). THESE TOOLS WILL SUPPORT ADA SYSTEM DEVELOPERS BY CHECKING, AND WHERE APPROPRIATE ENFORCING, A SET OF ADA PROGRAMMING STYLE GUIDELINES. SPECIFIC TOOLSETS WILL BE CONFIGURED FROM A COLLECTION OF GENERAL PURPOSE TOOL COMPONENTS, CUSTOMIZED TO THE PRECISE NEEDS OF A PROJECT OR A DEVELOPER'S ROLE WITHIN A PROJECT, AND APPLIED BY DEVELOPERS DURING SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT. THE SPECIFIC TECHNICAL PROBLEMS THAT WILL BE RESOLVED BY THIS RESEARCH INCLUDE: IDENTIFICATION OF GUIDELINE-DEFINED ADA PROGRAM PROPERTIES WHICH CAN BE CHECKED AUTOMATICALLY. FEASIBILITY OF CHECKING HIGH-LEVEL SEMANTIC PROPERTIES OF ADA PROGRAMS. IDENTIFICATION AND OUTLINE SPECIFICATION OF THE GENERAL PURPOSE COMPONENTS WHICH WILL BE INSTANTIATED AND CONFIGURED INTO SPECIFIC TOOLSETS. DEFINITION OF A SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE THAT SUPPORTS COMPONENT INSTANTIATION AND CONFIGURATION, AND TOOLSET CUSTOMIZATION AND APPLICATION. SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION OF THE RESEARCH WILL INDICATE THE FEASIBILITY OF PROCEEDING WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF AQT AND PROVIDE THE TECHNICAL BASIS FOR THAT DEVELOPMENT.