Towards a Domain Specific Framework for Wearable Applications in Internet of Things

Abstract

Generating source code from a software spec to automate software development is arguably one of the most challenging tasks due to, for example, the complexity of software domain, richness of user interface and the heterogeneity of development platforms. Domain-specific approaches make code generation technically possible by narrowing down the software domain. Internet of Things is a paradigm shift in computing that might eventually give rise to the proliferation of dedicated software methods and tools. Domain-specific software engineering in this new computing paradigm leaves a lot to be desired. In this paper, we propose an approach to semi-automatically generating C code out of a visual design for the software module controlling wearable devices. The visual design consists of (i) input panel describing components that receive input data and how they are wired to the module; (ii) output panel describing components that produce output data and how they are wired to the module; (iii) connectivity and data storage; and (iv) state machine of the module. We have tested our domain-specific framework in a case-study where wearable devices used for ordering (i.e., to serve restaurant’s clients) and delivering (i.e., to assist restaurant’s waiters) food at a restaurant need to be developed.