RE: [boost] Re: Re: Some questions on the FSM submission

From: Jeff Garland (jeff_at_[hidden])
Date: 2003-06-07 22:11:51

Andreas - good to see your submission. I briefly scanned it, and it looks
good :-) I'm hope to find some time to play with it in earnest.  

Just wanted to comment on the UML/SDL comparison.  I won't try to summarize
and relate to the earlier points, but here are a few thoughts:
1) I have a colleague that has used one of the expensive SDL generation tools
for a telecom product.  It was great if what you were doing fit well into SDL, 
but plugging in say an std::list was a nightmare -- basically undoable (C 
wrappers and such).  He hated every minute.
3) UML state diagrams derive from Harel state charts and have clearly defined
semantics.  SDL comes from the telecom world and was gradually enhanced with
ideas such as objects.  In any case, there has been work to combine the two:

http://www.rational.com/products/whitepapers/441.jsp?SMSESSION=NO

>From one of the tool vendors:
http://www.telelogic.com/products/tau/languages/uml_sdl/background.cfm

etc...

4) I think you are right that your submission can cover most of the
ground of both.  That said, I for one, think that coverage of UML is 
the more important of the two.  A few developers I've met actually 
understand something about UML state diagrams.  Barely any have
any idea about SDL and I've worked on various telecom projects 
for at least 8 years... 

Jeff