Vector-time switching functions (VTS-functions) as a language for describing information processing circuits and systems. I

Abstract

The creat ion of a language possess ing the means of d i rec t ly and completely accounting for t ime factors has as its object the analytic express ions of schemes : 1) of a lgor i thms rea l izab le by them as a t ime sequence of act ions to be performed; 2) of a procedure for t r ans fo rming informat ion in schemes like the t ime in teract ion of informat ion s ignals expressed in a given s t ruc tura l alphabet; 3) of a whole complex of i ts apparatus as a means of per forming a requi red sequence of logical opera t ions and the operat ive storage of var iab les in the course of a given process . The impor tance of at taining these a ims for p rob lems of the planning, descr ipt ion, and s imula t ion of sy s t ems is obvious; it is even more under scored by the development of computer techniques charac te r ized , in par t icu la r , by increas ing ly complicated sys tems, an inc reased degree of homogenei ty and integrat ion of the components , an inc rease in the ra te of i n fo rmation process ing, and also the effect of delay in the coupling c i rcui ts . The language of VTS-functions is a specific p r e dicative language, whose e lements and symbol i sm are s imple, convenient , and ref lec t the prac t ica l r e a l i z a t ions. The contours of the language were sketched out in [6], and it was par t ia l ly used in pract ice in [7]. The main idea in cons t ruct ing the language cons is ts in the enr ichment of sentent ia l calculus by means , cor responding to the purposes indicated, of mapping the t ime process of informat ion t r ans fo rmat ion (it is p r ec i s e ly in this that the language of VTS-functions differs fundamental ly from other languages [1, 5] also based on the sentent ial calculus) . * On the whole VTS-functions may be cons idered as the rud iments of some "dynamic sentent ia l ca lculus" or "dynamic logic," whose fur ther development opens up in te res t ing prospects for its use for r ep resen t ing the t ime p roces se s of informat ion p rocess ing with g rea te r detail , or conversely , to higher levels than that provided for by the given language. In the presen t paper the bases of the actual language of VTS-functions is considered, and the physical meaning of the concepts presen ted is also i l luminated.