In this paper I answer the question how evolving algebras can be used for the design and analysis of complex hardware and software systems. I present the salient features of this new method and illustrate them through several examples from my work on specification and verification of programming languages, compilers, protocols and architectures. The definition of a mathematical model for Hennessy and Patterson's RISC architecture DLX serves as a running example; this model is used in [24] to prove the correctness of instruction pipelining. I will point out the yet unexplored potential of the evolving algebra method for large-scale industrial applications.

To effectively perform a change to an existing software system, a software engineer needs to have some understanding of the structure of the system. All too often, though, an engineer must proceed to change a system without sufficient structural information because existing software understanding techniques are unable to help the engineer acquire the desired knowledge within the time and cost constraints specified for the task. The thesis of this research is that an approach based on summarization can overcome the limitations associated with existing approaches, enabling an engineer to assess, plan, and execute changes to a software system more effectively. Summarization involves the production of overviews of vast amounts of user-selected information in a timely manner. I describe two tech...

Software Engineering is not a discipline: it is an aspiration, as yet unachieved. Many approaches have been proposed, including reusable components, formal methods, structured methods, and architectural studies. These approaches chiefly emphasise the engineering product: the solution rather than the problem it solves. An approach to understanding and classifying software development problems in terms of problem frames is suggested. In addition to such general approaches, specialisation is essential: the established branches of engineering are all specialisations. Some specialisations have arisen in software development, notably in compiler construction and software for personal computers. More are needed. 1 The Aspiration The term Software Engineering is usually thought to date from 1968. The report of the first Software Engineering conference [13] explains the background: "In late 1967 the [NATO Science Committee] Study Group recommended the holding of a working conference on Softw...

ABSTRACT. The stated, accepted philosophy for systems development is that the development process is a well understood approach that can be planned, estimated, and successfully completed. This has proven incorrect in practice. SCRUM assumes that the systems development process is an unpredictable, complicated process that can only be roughly described as an overall progression. SCRUM defines the systems development process as a loose set of activities that combines known, workable tools and techniques with the best that a development team can devise to build systems. Since these activities are loose, controls to manage the process and inherent risk are used. SCRUM is an enhancement of the commonly used iterative/incremental object-oriented development cycle.

As multimedia information systems begin to infiltrate organizations, there arises a need to capture and disseminate knowledge about how to develop them. Little is thus far known about the realities of multimedia systems development practice, or about how the development of multimedia systems compares to that of ‘traditional ’ information systems. Herein are discussed the findings of a survey of multimedia developers in Ireland. Practitioners generally agree that systematic approaches are desirable in order to beneficially add structure to development processes, but they are predominantly using their own in-house methods rather than those prescribed in the literature.

Evolution in scientific software is often according to a specific pattern of software changes: professional scientists, who are not professional software developers, need rapid, dynamic, and domain-specific changes of the software they work with. To address unanticipated software evolution in this field, our objective is to enable these end-users (here: biologists) to change software from the user interface. An approach is presented that integrates technological and methodological solutions. We explain why these solutions are complementary, and how they can be integrated and co-evolved from software design to actual use. 1

: Current software systems are growing ever larger and more complex. This increase in size and complexity is of course reflected in the data produced in the development process and overviewing and navigating the structure are becoming daunting tasks. This paper presents a model for visualising many important aspects of the complex, multi-dimensional, data in a software development project. The model is based on a geographic space metaphor: Entities in the software architecture are organised geographically in what becomes a design `landscape'. Thereby overview and navigation is supported by tapping into humans fine spatial and visual perception. The landscape is shared in the project team, and mediates daily development activities thereby providing a common reference frame, and a framework for visualising aspects of the software. A prototype implementation of a software development environment, Ragnarok, based on this model is presented and some preliminary experiences outli...

Software reuse is the process of building new systems from existing components instead of developing these systems from scratch. For a long time now software reuse is repeatedly acknowledged for playing an essential role in overcoming the so-called software crisis, i.e. the late delivery of then still faulty software products. Current development practice as for example object-oriented analysis, design, and programming should in principle assist the proliferation of the reuse idea. However, before existing components may be considered for reuse they have to be found in a software library. As ever in any area relying on the retrieval of particular objects from a large data store, the process of retrieval may turn out to be rather cumbersome, especially when a large number of objects is contained in the data store and the success of the whole operation is dependent on the retrieval of a small number of relevant objects. With this work we address the assistance of such a retrieval process...

This paper describes a software development environment where the user interface is based on a geographic space metaphor. It argues that a geographic space metaphor enhances navigational abilities, provides a common reference frame for development teams, helps maintaining overview and improves understanding of large software structures, and provides a strong framework for visualising properties of the software.

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