Abstract: An equipment for displaying a specification of behavior of a real time system includes a program memory for storing a plurality of program objects for simulating operations of objects indicative of an arrangement of the real time system and a plurality of graphical symbol objects for expressing operational states of the objects and relationships between the objects in the form of a graphical symbol representation on a display screen. In the equipment, the plurality of program objects are linked with the plurality of symbol objects through an inter-program communication control routine. Each of the program objects, when receiving a message from the communication control routine, is executed for simulation operation according to the received message to thereby generate a new message to be sent to the associated program routine and a new message indicative of an object state change to be sent to one of the symbol objects corresponding to the associated object.

Abstract: An apparatus for supporting development of a graphic data driven program includes a data driven mechanism enabling instructions of the data driven program to be executed whenever all input data necessary for executing the instructions is available.

Abstract: A data driven type instruction execution method for controlling execution of instructions by using a memory storing an input data available source, an output message destination to which the results of the operation performed are sent and an input data number counters for indicating availability of the input data to each of the instructions. A flag indicating the number of input data required for each instruction is not less than two, an input data number counter for the instruction requiring two or more input data and an initialization table for setting an initial value of the counter. The content of the flag is referred and deciding that the instruction can be executed when the flag indicates the input data number of one. The input data counter is decremented when the input data number is two or more, and deciding that the instruction can be executed when the decrement of the input data counter results in zero.

Abstract: A method of converting with the aid of a computer a data flow description chart containing a plurality of process elements each receiving a plurality of inputs and outputting one or plural data according to the result of processing and data lines interconnecting the plural process elements into a function design chart showing an outline of the data flow. A source program list corresponding to the data flow description chart is inputted to the computer. A statements analyzing program then consults a first description rule table prepared previously to thereby convert each statement of the source program describing the relation between each of the process elements and the plural input information inputted to each process element into an output data record including a graphic symbol to be displayed on the function design chart and comment. The comment imparted to each graphic symbol of the process element is the respresentative input information of those inputted to the process element.

Abstract: An I/O prescription table (I/O PTBL) is associated with a processing program module that is executed by a conventional sequential execution type processor. Each processing program module fetches the input data according to its associated I/O PTBL and stores the output data in the same table. An execution control program makes reference to the I/O PTBL associated with the processing program module, updates the designated I/O PTBL so as to indicate that the corresponding input data is prepared, and starts the processing program module associated with the I/O PTBL which is furnished with all of the necessary input data.