Termina – Programming Language

Termina is a domain-specific language for real-time embedded systems aimed at simplifying their implementation and reducing validation and verification costs.

This repository contains the implementation of a transpiler from Termina to C. The generated code is supported on a runtime that in turn runs on a real-time operating system.

Main features

Ease of learning and use. Termina follows the imperative paradigm with a syntax similar to C to facilitate adoption by current developers.
Domain-specific abstractions. The language includes abstractions pertinent to reactive critical real-time systems, such as events, tasks, and asynchronous handlers, aligning design models with final application code.
Reactive programming model. Tasks and handlers in Termina will be reactive components, incorporating various response actions. The language will enable global event definition and association with component actions, enhancing application analysis and verification.
Run-to-completion semantics. Actions in the system always complete once started, without blocking their executing tasks. This approach requires all functions to be terminating, with bounded loops and no recursion, aiding verification procedures.
Design patterns for safety and robustness. Termina supports only two interaction mechanisms between reactive elements: shared resources and asynchronous message passing. A monitor-based approach manages shared resources.
Deterministic dynamic memory management. Termina only allows the use of memory pools as a dynamic memory management mechanism.
Provision of memory-safety properties. Termina implements a type system that guarantees that no error arises from memory management. In particular, the absence of access errors, null-pointer de-references and memory leaks.