The L.0 language and environment for protocol simulation and prototyping

A description is given of L.0, an executable specification language designed for describing communications protocols and similar reactive systems. L.0 is synchronous and rule-based. The rules are either cause-effect rules or constraints. Rules can be activated and deactivated dynamically, and several can be fired simultaneously. L.0 has modern notions of encapsulation and data sharing. Indirection, quantification, and recursive definition of modules increase its expressiveness. L.0 has been used in several development projects to design, simulate, and prototype protocols. It seems to provide a paradigm that is precise and yet can be used by designers and engineers who are not specialists in specification languages.<
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