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 (fr a meworks) 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 fr a mework, 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.