Requirements for a dynamic interface model of IEC 61499 Function Blocks

Component-based software engineering has emerged as a principle of software design to facilitate reuse and improve the software quality. This principle is supported by the domain-specific language IEC 61499, where Function Blocks are fully encapsulated software components. For a Function Block definition, a static interface description and an internal implementation are required. Service sequences describe the event flow at a component interface and are an optional dynamic interface model in IEC 61499. In general, dynamic interface models are a powerful tool for various use cases, yet service sequences are rarely used in practice due to their low expressiveness. Therefore, we identify the domain-specific requirements for a comprehensive dynamic interface model and use them for our analysis of service sequences, where several issues are identified.