Synergy : a comprehensive software distributed shared memory system

Considerable research and development has been invested in software Distributed Shared Memory (DSM). The primary focus of this work has traditionally been on high performance and consistency protocols. Unfortunately, clusters present a number of challenges for any DSM systems not solvable through consistency protocols alone. These challenges relate to the ability of DSM systems to adjust to load fluctuations, computers being added/removed from the cluster, to deal with faults, and the ability to use DSM objects larger than the available physical memory. This paper introduces the Synergy DSM System and its integration with the virtual memory, group communication and process migration services of the Genesis Cluster Operating System.

Flowchart software for a modular robot

Flowcharting is a common method of setting out the requirements for a piece of code. It is simple with few rules to follow. Rarely however, is it used as the code itself. This paper describes the outline of a software package that uses the flowchart as the code for a small, autonomous, modular robot, designed for use in High Schools and Universities at an introductory level. By using flowcharting the student is introduced to the concept of structured programming. A flowchart is often the first step in programming. Here it is the only step, easing the student into the art of coding, and simplifying the teachers job.

Software warehouse and software mining : the impact of data mining to software engineering

Automating Software Engineering is the dream of software Engineers for decades. To make this dream to come to true, data mining can play an important role. Our recent research has shown that to increase the productivity and to reduce the cost of software development, it is essential to have an effective and efficient mechanism to store, manage and utilize existing software resources, and thus to automate software analysis, testing, evaluation and to make use of existing software for new problems. This paper firstly provides a brief overview of traditional data mining followed by a presentation on data mining in broader sense. Secondly, it presents the idea and the technology of software warehouse as an innovative approach in managing software resources using the idea of data warehouse where software assets are systematically accumulated, deposited, retrieved, packaged, managed and utilized driven by data mining and OLAP technologies. Thirdly, we presented the concepts and technology and their applications of data mining and data matrix including software warehouse to software engineering. The perspectives of the role of software warehouse and software mining in modern software development are addressed. We expect that the results will lead to a streamlined high efficient software development process and enhance the productivity in response to modern challenges of the design and development of software applications.

Flowchart and kernel software for modular robot

Flowcharting is a common method of setting out the requirements for a piece of code. It is simple with few rules to follow. Rarely however, s it used as the code itself. This paper describes the outline of a software package that uses the flowchart as the code for a small, autonomous, modular robot, designed for use in High Schools. It also describe the code used by the robot to complement the flowchart software creating a system that can be used by students and their teachers to design, build and program a robot without previous programming experience.

Global software development : the next RE frontier?

Requirements Engineers face an emerging set of challenges, which compound the traditional Requirements Engineering (RE) challenges (stakeholder identification, domain expertise, communication, analytic skills, problem solving, ...) that have arguably still not been fully addressed. This is the challenge of RE in the world of global software development, with requirements teams working in virtual mode (possibly on different continents), with the software having to operate in multiple contexts, addressing the needs of different cultures and legal jurisdictions, and having to build sales in different marketplaces. Further the need arises to specify software that is progressively enhanced through regular releases, rather than the “green field” specification of products.

This theoretical paper introduces these challenges, and presents an initial selection of theoretical models, drawn from many and varied source disciplines, which might be employed to gain insight into various features of RE in support of global software development. To illustrate the potential relevance of this selection of models, a longitudinal case study with a recently identified software developer, to follow the specification and subsequent roll-out of a future release of a software product for sale globally, is introduced. Features of the situation faced by that organisation are highlighted, to illustrate the potential relevance of the diverse models that have been identified.

E-entrepreneurship and open source software

As the first stage of a larger project, this paper presents experiences of two e-Entrepreneurs in the light of Open Source Software (OSS) being accepted globally. Unlike proprietary software (such as Windows), OSS comes with its internal details visible to its users. The significant implications of this unique style of software distribution for e-Entrepreneurs are examined. Recommendations arising from the interviews include the need to be technically competent; understanding the reasons behind adopting this strategy; and identifying and addressing customers' requirements. Authors also found similarities between traits (such as being visionary; being responsive to market changes) which make an entrepreneur and e-Entrepreneurs successful.

A fuzzy logic based approach for software testing

How to provide cost-effective strategies for Software Testing has been one of the research focuses in Software Engineering for a long time. Many researchers in Software Engineering have addressed the effectiveness and quality metric of Software Testing, and many interesting results have been obtained. However, one issue of paramount importance in software testing — the intrinsic imprecise and uncertain relationships within testing metrics — is left unaddressed. To this end, a new quality and effectiveness measurement based on fuzzy logic is proposed. Related issues like the software quality features and fuzzy reasoning for test project similarity measurement are discussed, which can deal with quality and effectiveness consistency between different test projects. Experiments were conducted to verify the proposed measurement using real data from actual software testing projects. Experimental results show that the proposed fuzzy logic based metrics is effective and efficient to measure and evaluate the quality and effectiveness of test projects.

Agile approaches to software maintenance : an exploratory study of practitioner views

Whilst there has been some research into the application of agile approaches to the world of software maintenance, in this paper it is argued that there has not been a coherent investiga-tion that focuses on the collection and analysis of the views and perceptions of agile software maintenance approaches held by experienced software maintenance professionals. In this paper, we report such an exploratory investigation, which has seeded the development of a simple framework for classifying collected views and perceptions. Specifically, a matrix framework has been introduced, to facilitate comparison of the levels of understanding of the issues affecting an agile adoption decision, and the extent to which an agile approach has been implemented. Examples of organizations operating in all four cells of this matrix have been presented.

The reality of quality systems software : working for the machine, or smart people around the machine?

This case study-based research examines the outcomes of using quality system software (QSS) in terms of the support it provides to, and the constraints it imposes on, its users. The results indicate that QSS can help facilitate knowledge access and sharing, and to a lesser extent, facilitate communication. It can be an effective mechanism for initiating and managing changes to work processes. Although some writers have opined that information technology (IT) is another way of controlling workers, this was not evidenced in this study. Technical shortcomings did hamper performance of some tasks, and for some managers, extra work was involved.

Requirements engineering during global software development : some impediments to the requirements engineering process : a case study

Requirements engineering is not straightforward for any software development team. Developing software when team members are located in widely distributed geographic locations poses many challenges for developers, particularly during the requirements engineering phase. This paper reports on a case study concerning a large software development project that was completed in just seven months between users located in the UK and software developers from an international software house based in New Zealand. The case indicates that while “true” global requirements engineering may be desirable in achieving economy of resources, a “hybrid” structure of requirements engineering processes is more realistic so that lasting relationships with clients may be formed, and requirements engineering activities achieved. The main impediment to the process of requirements engineering during global software development, as recounted by the team members in this case, is communication. Communication issues may be further described in terms of four categories: distribution of the clients and the development team, distribution of the development team, cultural differences between the clients and the development team and cultural differences among the development team.