Benefits and challenges of applying Semantic Web Services in the e-Government domain

Joining up services in e-Government usually implies governmental agencies acting in concert without a central control regime. This requires the sharing of scattered and heterogeneous data. Semantic Web Service (SWS) technology can help to integrate, mediate and reason between these datasets. However, since few real-world applications have been developed, it is still unclear which are the actual benefits and issues of adopting such a technology in the e-Government domain. In this paper, we contribute to raising awareness of the potential benefits in the e-Government community by analyzing motivations, requirements, and expected results, before proposing a reusable SWS-based framework. We demonstrate the application of this framework by a compelling use case: a GIS-based emergency planning system. We illustrate the obtained benefits and the key challenges which remain to be addressed

Quality life cycle of object oriented software development in extreme programming

Thesis (Master)--Izmir Institute of Technology, Computer Engineering, Izmir, 2008Includes bibliographical references (leaves: 53)Text in English; Abstract: Turkish and Englishviii, 53 leavesAlthough there are many teams using Extreme Programming, many people still think that applying its values, principles and practices will cause catastrophic results.However extreme programming is not only compatible with today.s software standards, technologies and most importantly with the changes at every phase of software development but also improves the quality of software. In my thesis I analyze its values, principles, and practices and how they increase the quality comparing to old software development methodologies

Measuring Qualities for OSGi Component-Based Applications

International audienceComponent-based software engineering (CBSE) begins to reach a certain level of maturity. Indeed, for the development of complex applications the use of component paradigm has become common. Therefore, the evaluation of the quality of these applications becomes necessary. In this context, the use of metrics is considered very important. Several metrics specific to component-based applications have been proposed. However, any of these metrics gained the consensus of the CBSE community and mainly there is no proposed tool to support them. As a large part of frameworks for component-based application development is based on object-oriented technology, we propose to use some object-oriented (OO) metrics to evaluate component-based applications produced with this kind of framework. Indeed, these metrics became a standard in OO community. So, they are well-defined, well-known and empirically validated. To identify which object-oriented metrics are useful for the evaluation of component-based applications, we have conducted an experimental study on 10 OSGi applications. This study also gives us the opportunity to discuss on the respect by OSGi developers of some properties pointed out by the literatur

Specification and use of component failure patterns

Safety-critical systems are typically assessed for their adherence to specified safety properties. They are studied down to the component-level to identify root causes of any hazardous failures. Most recent work with model-based safety analysis has focused on improving system modelling techniques and the algorithms used for automatic analyses of failure models. However, few developments have been made to improve the scope of reusable analysis elements within these techniques. The failure behaviour of components in these techniques is typically specified in such a way that limits the applicability of such specifications across applications. The thesis argues that allowing more general expressions of failure behaviour, identifiable patterns of failure behaviour for use within safety analyses could be specified and reused across systems and applications where the conditions that allow such reuse are present.This thesis presents a novel Generalised Failure Language (GFL) for the specification and use of component failure patterns. Current model-based safety analysis methods are investigated to examine the scope and the limits of achievable reuse within their analyses. One method, HiP-HOPS, is extended to demonstrate the application of GFL and the use of component failure patterns in the context of automated safety analysis. A managed approach to performing reuse is developed alongside the GFL to create a method for more concise and efficient safety analysis. The method is then applied to a simplified fuel supply and a vehicle braking system, as well as on a set of legacy models that have previously been analysed using classical HiP-HOPS. The proposed GFL method is finally compared against the classical HiP-HOPS, and in the light of this study the benefits and limitations of this approach are discussed in the conclusions

Deploying Semantic Web Services-Based Applications in the e-Government Domain

Joining up services in e-Government usually implies governmental agencies acting in concert without a central control regime. This requires to the sharing scattered and heterogeneous data. Semantic Web Service (SWS) technology can help to integrate, mediate and reason between these datasets. However, since a few real-world applications have been developed, it is still unclear which are the actual benefits and issues of adopting such a technology in the e-Government domain. In this paper, we contribute to raising awareness of the potential benefits in the e-Government communityby analyzing motivations, requirements and expected results, before proposing a reusable SWS-based framework. We demonstrate the application of this framework by showing how integration and interoperability emerge from this model through a cooperative and multi-viewpoint methodology. Finally, we illustrate added values and lessons learned by two compelling case studies: a change of circumstances notification system and a GIS-based emergency planning system, and describe key challenges which remain to be addressed

Grammatically driven class derivation (extended abstract)

This effort sets out to outline a research domain of academic and commercial relevance as well as the establishment of a possible research trend in the field of software engineering. The OO approach has established itself as a widespread and effective paradigm for modern software development. Many aspects of OO development are methodologically supported and procedural and representation standards are clearly defined. Certain activities within OO development remain suited for both automated and manual interpretations. It is also a fact that many system descriptions start off as natural language accounts of business processes, rather than semi-formalised data-flow or use-case models. It is therefore being proposed that a direct-from-text reliable and complete conversion method with governing standards can be defined to automate as necessary the class derivation activity, therefore decreasing the overall development effort and error-introduction probability without effecting objectivity within the OO development process. Such a conversion method would also allow more accurate rapid prototype generation at the earliest development stages. In theory, this would enable developers to automatically generate better quality “first-cut” GUI prototypes directly from textual system descriptions.peer-reviewe