A software port from a standalone communications management unit to an integrated platform

Changes to the National Airspace System (NAS) are being driven by a number of technologies grouped under the nomenclature "Communications-Navigation-Surveillance/Air Traffic Management" (CNS/ATM) and its military counterpart, Global Air Traffic Management (GATM). Data link is an integral part of the CNS/ATM and GATM initiatives, and a Communications Management Unit (CMU) is a key component on board the aircraft. The Mark III CMU has been developed by Honeywell to address the civil CNS/ATM market. A port of the Communications Management Function (CMF) software was accomplished from the Mark III platform, a standalone CMU, to an integrated platform that hosts other applications (flight management, flight controls, displays, etc.) as well as the CMF. To maximize the portability of the core CMF code, the functionality of the system was modeled using a fourth generation language (4GL). Core data link functionality is implemented as a platform independent model. Platform specific code is auto generated from the model, using a platform specific Run Time Library (RTL). The model-based approach allows data link domain knowledge to be centralized in one organization. As the CNS/ATM environment changes, new core functionality will be developed and will be immediately available to all the host platforms that run the CMF.