For accurate and reliable automatic control the organisation of computer systems in aircraft and applications in other multi-task computer systems is more likely to be based on a number of "cooperative" computers in an integrated manner [1], than a main central computer.
Such a cooperative design should provide for the normal work load of each computer plus checking the data processing of another computer and have the ability to continue operation in case of a malfunction in one processor. To ensure that these requirements are met in a data driven operating system the basic system design parameters need careful assessment for optimised system performance especially when deadlines must be met in some control functions and an order of priorities preserved.
The present paper reports progress on a computer aided system design of such linked cooperative computers under the above conditions to determine basic system parameters such as the desirable character rates for the several central processors (C.P's) and optimum cycle length of C.P. to C.P. transfers.
The methods also overcomes objections [2] to some systems design procedures by allowing the results of sampled data theory to be made use of in the systems design by incorporating the sampling rate---although calculated separately [3] in one of the prime design parameters of the system.