Multi-paradigm programming in large control systems

Due to the complex functionality of large control systems, many different application domains are involved in their implementation. Despite this diversity, modern control systems are implemented according to the (conventional) imperative programming model. Multi-paradigm programming is an approach toward system development that is based on more than one programming model. By choosing a domain-specific paradigm for each of the application domains involved, the expected advantage is a less intensive and less error-prone development process. This paper discusses the application of multi-paradigm programming to large distributed control systems. The benefits are illustrated by experimental applications in the context of naval command-and-control systems. To solve the problem of paradigm integration, a software architecture for distributed control systems is introduced that supports multi-paradigm programming. The architecture is shown to be compositional and open to new paradigms.