The widespread use of embedded systems mandates the development of industrial software design methods, i.e. computer-aided design and engineering of embedded applications using formal models (frameworks) and standardized prefabricated components, much in the same way as in other mature areas of engineering such as mechanical engineering and electronics. These guidelines have been used to develop Component-based Design of Software for Embedded Systems (COMDES). The paper gives an overview of the COMDES framework, followed by a presentation of a generic component types, such as function blocks, activities and function units. The execution of function units is discussed in the context of a newly developed execution model, i.e. timed-multitasking, which has been extended to distributed embedded systems.
