SIGNAL

SIGNAL is a synchronous dataflow programming language that describes reactive systems through equations over signals. Its compiler derives executable implementations while preserving the specified timing and data dependencies.

Synchronous dataflow: A computational model in which data flows through a graph of operations synchronized by discrete logical instants. SIGNAL expresses computations as dataflow equations whose events obey synchronous timing.
Reactive system: A system that continuously interacts with its environment by responding to inputs and producing outputs. SIGNAL targets systems whose behavior is organized around ongoing input and output.
INRIA: A French public research institute specializing in computer science and applied mathematics. SIGNAL was developed through research associated with this institute.
Embedded system: A computer system built into a larger device to perform dedicated functions. SIGNAL programs can specify the control and processing behavior of embedded devices.
Signal (programming): A time-indexed sequence of values or events used as a basic object in synchronous programming. SIGNAL equations define and relate these time-varying objects.
Logical clock: An abstract sequence of ordered instants used to describe event timing independently of physical time. SIGNAL uses clocks to state when signals are present and equations are active.
Albert Benveniste: A French computer scientist known for research in control, distributed systems, and synchronous languages. He was among the researchers who shaped SIGNAL and its formal foundations.
Real-time computing: Computing in which correctness depends on both results and the time at which they are produced. SIGNAL makes timing relationships part of the program’s semantics.
Synchronous programming language: A programming language whose computations proceed in discrete logical instants with defined synchronization semantics. SIGNAL belongs to this language family and uses its instant-based execution model.
Synchronous semantics: A formal account of computation in which reactions occur at discrete logical instants. These semantics clarify how SIGNAL equations determine each instant’s system reaction.

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