Ptolemy

"Ptolemy II [1][6] is an open-source software framework supporting experimentation with actor-oriented design. Actors are software components that execute concurrently and communicate through messages sent via interconnected ports. A model is a hierarchical interconnection of actors. In Ptolemy II, the semantics of a model is not determined by the framework, but rather by a software component in the model called a director, which implements a model of computation. The Ptolemy Project has developed directors supporting process networks (PN), discrete-events (DE), dataflow (SDF), synchronous/reactive(SR), rendezvous-based models, 3-D visualization, and continuous-time models. Each level of the hierarchy in a model can have its own director, and distinct directors can be composed hierarchically. A major emphasis of the project has been on understanding the heterogeneous combinations of models of computation realized by these directors. Directors can be combined hierarchically with state machines to make modal models [2]. A hierarchical combination of continuous-time models with state machines yields hybrid systems [3]; a combination of synchronous/reactive with state machines yields StateCharts [4] (the Ptolemy II variant is close to SyncCharts).

Ptolemy II has been under development since 1996; it is a successor to Ptolemy Classic, which was developed since 1990. The core of Ptolemy II is a collection of Java classes and packages, layered to provide increasingly specific capabilities. The kernel supports an abstract syntax, a hierarchical structure of entities with ports and interconnections. A graphical editor called Vergil supports visual editing of this abstract syntax. An XML concrete syntax called MoML provides a persistent file format for the models[5]. Various specialized tools have been created from this framework, including HyVisual (for hybrid systems modeling), Kepler (for scientific workflows), VisualSense (for modeling and simulation of wireless networks), Viptos (for sensor network design), and some commercial products. Key parts of the infrastructure include an actor abstract semantics, which enables the interoperability of distinct models of computation with a well-defined semantics; a model of time (specifically, super-dense time, which enables interaction of continuous dynamics and imperative logic); and a sophisticated type system supporting type checking, type inference, and polymorphism. The type system has recently been extended to support user-defined ontologies [6]. Various experiments with synthesis of implementation code and abstractions for verification are included in the project

Current work in Ptolemy II is focusing on Accessors, which are a technology for making the Internet of Things accessible to a broader community of citizens, inventors, and service providers through open interfaces, an open community of developers, and an open repository of technology. Ptolemy II includes the Cape Code Accessor Host [7]"

http://ptolemy.eecs.berkeley.edu/ptolemyII/index.htm