TC 10 - Computer Systems Technology - Aims and Scopes

est. 1976, revised 1987

AIMS

The Aims of the Committee are the promotion of the State-of-the-Art and the coordination of information exchange on concepts, methodologies, and tools in the stages in the life cycle of computer systems.  

SCOPE

*    system and component concepts, architecture and organisation;

*    specification, design and verification methodologies of computer systems;

*    logical design and fabrication of components and systems;

*    evaluation of the parameters of computer systems and components;

*    reliability;

*    assessment of emerging technologies;

*    application specific computer systems and components including peripherals. 


WG10.2 – Embedded Systems
est. 2006

AIMS

The WG10.2 shall be constituted as a group under the sponsoring organization with the following basic aims: 

*    to be the internationally open reference group for all aspects of embedded system design promoted and sponsored by the sponsoring organization of the WG10.2:

*    to further the dissemination and exchange of information and experience on research and applications in the area of embedded systems;

*    to address ES designers and researchers from both, industry and academia;

*    to encourage education in all areas of embedded systems;

*    to further the interdisciplinary character of embedded systems, that encompasses hardware (system on a chip), real-time software, real-time operating systems, control theory, intelligent features, dependability issues.

SCOPE

Embedded systems are gaining increasing importance in all aspects of engineering. It is expected that in the near future roughly no technical artifact will exist without embedded information technology. There is a tendency to software oriented embedded and/or dependable systems, based on standardized micro-controller cores. This implies that the design of embedded real-time software and real-time operating systems will play a dominant role in this field. As more and more networks of micro-controllers are applied, real-time communication systems and in general the design of distributed embedded systems will gain importance. As high-performance embedded computing components have become available the challenges of designing embedded systems have become more acute.

The scope of WG10.2 comprises in detail to:

*    organize events in the area of ES (e.g. DIPES (Distributed and Parallel Embedded Systems));

*    seek co-operation with user and interest groups as well as with ES-oriented groups within IFIP and other societies;

*    discuss, disseminate and exchange information on ES-related standardization activities;

*    study and encourage curricula on ES design;

*    initiate and organize new ES-related activities.


WG10.3 - Concurrent Systems
est. 1978, revised 1979, 1988, 2006

AIMS

The study of computer systems, having several computing elements, with the goal of improving the quality of attributes such as cost, performance, programmability, extendability and functionality.

The study includes the interrelation software/firmware/hardware in specification, design and implementation. 

SCOPE

*    Exploration of problem areas and solutions pertaining to the interrelation between the hardware functions and the software functions in systems such as supervisors, data management, language translators, I/O systems, and user interfaces.

*    Evaluation of the implementation of trends in computer systems technology on the interrelation of software, firmware and hardware.

*    Evaluation of the implication of this interrelation in the trends in computer systems technology.


WG10.4 - Dependable Computing and Fault Tolerance
est. 1980, revised 1988

AIMS

Increasingly, individuals and organizations are developing or procuring sophisticated computing systems on whose services they need to place great reliance. In differing circumstances, the focus will be on differing properties of such services - e.g. continuity, performance, real-time response, ability to avoid catastrophic failures, prevention of deliberate privacy intrusions. The notion of dependability, defined as that property of a computing system which allows reliance to be justifiably placed on the serve it delivers, enables these various concerns to be subsumed within a single conceptional framework. Dependability thus includes as special cares such attributes as reliability, availability, safety, security. The Working Group is aimed at identifying and integrating approaches, methods and techniques for specifying, designing, building, assessing, validating, operating and maintaining computer systems which should exhibit some or all of these attributes.   

SCOPE

Specifically, the Working Group is concerned with progress in:

*    understanding of faults (accidental faults, be they physical, design induced, originating from human interaction; intentional faults) and their effect;

*    specification and design methods for dependability;

*    methods for error detection and processing, and for fault treatment;

*    validation (testing, verification, evaluation) and design for testability and verifiability;

*    assessing dependability through modelling and measurement. 


WG10.5 - Design and Engineering of Electronic Systems
est. 1981, revised 1988, merged with WG 10.2 in 1994, rev. 2003

AIMS

Electronic system design demands a tight integration on a very large profile of knowledge and skills ranging from hardware and software system architecture to semiconductor physics.
Functionality of complex embedded or stand-alone systems, to be applied in areas such as general-purpose computing, telecommunications, automotive, entertainment, and multimedia, may be realized by various combinations of analog and digital hardware and software parts.
Systems can be implemented by single or multiple integrated circuits and software modules that can be either of special purpose, programmable or reconfigurable.
The working group aims at providing a forum amongst creative experts to explore problem areas and solutions for the design of such complex electronic systems and also disseminating the solutions to a broader industrial and educational sphere.  

SCOPE

The Working Group is interested in a broad range of topics related to the design and engineering of heterogeneous systems, containing hardware, software, and even mechanical parts.

*    System Design Methods

*    Embedded Systems

*    Modeling and Specification

*    Design Validation

*    Formal Methods in Design

*    Synthesis

*    Design Environments

*    Reconfigurable Computing

*    VLSI Systems and Applications

*    Physical Design

*    Test and Testability

*    Power-aware Design

*    Analog and Mixed-Signal Systems

*    Fundamental CAD Algorithms