Automatic Programming of Communications Software Via Nonprocedural Descriptions

This paper describes a method for automatically generating software for a stored program telephone switching office. The system allows users to quickly specify the operation of the switching office using a formal description language. The description language is a set of situation, stimulus, and effect triples which collectively specify the behavior of the phones the switching office controls. The description is automatically compiled into programs which effect the desired behavior. There are two major advantages: 1) nonprogrammers can implement complex features and 2) modifications which require changes throughout the code running the system can be expressed in a single part of the description language.