INTRODUCTION TO ZEND FRAMEWORK

A software framework provides the skeleton of an application that can be customized by an application developer. Like software libraries, software frameworks aid the software developer by containing source code that solves problems for a given domain and provides a simple API. However, while a code library acts like a servant to other programs, software frameworks reverse the master/servant relationship. This reversal, called inversion of control, expresses the essence of software frameworks. A web application framework is a software framework that is designed to support the development of dynamic websites, Web applications and Web services. The framework aims to alleviate the overhead associated with common activities used in Web development. For example, many frameworks provide libraries for database access, templating frameworks and session management, and often promote code reuse.Zend Framework

A Framework for Genetic Algorithms Based on Hadoop

Genetic Algorithms (GAs) are powerful metaheuristic techniques mostly used in many real-world applications. The sequential execution of GAs requires considerable computational power both in time and resources. Nevertheless, GAs are naturally parallel and accessing a parallel platform such as Cloud is easy and cheap. Apache Hadoop is one of the common services that can be used for parallel applications. However, using Hadoop to develop a parallel version of GAs is not simple without facing its inner workings. Even though some sequential frameworks for GAs already exist, there is no framework supporting the development of GA applications that can be executed in parallel. In this paper is described a framework for parallel GAs on the Hadoop platform, following the paradigm of MapReduce. The main purpose of this framework is to allow the user to focus on the aspects of GA that are specific to the problem to be addressed, being sure that this task is going to be correctly executed on the Cloud with a good performance. The framework has been also exploited to develop an application for Feature Subset Selection problem. A preliminary analysis of the performance of the developed GA application has been performed using three datasets and shown very promising performance

Microservices: Lightweight Service Descriptions for REST Architectural Style

Current web has a vast number of applications available that offer users a wide domain of services. Most services, however, cannot be machine processed, which limits service composition for application and mash up development. Research on Semantic Web Services contributes to the improvement of interoperability and composition of applications and services. Many approaches cover service description by following paradigms such as Web Services and REST architectural style, allowing describing any kind of service for its use by an automatic agent, but sometimes using these solutions can be a time-consuming task. This paper introduces Micro services, a lightweight service classification framework for REST architectural style. Microservices do not attempt to describe every possible service, but to provide a way to describe a set of services in a simple way. Microservice descriptions consist of a set of terms that represent service features. After describing features semantically, microservices framework allows generating detailed servicedescriptions, which allows reusing common feature descriptions across different services. A use case that adapts heterogeneous search services to produce a standard interface using microservices is describe

A physical supply-use table framework for energy analysis on the energy conversion chain

In response to the oil crises of the 1970s, energy accounting experienced a revolution and became the much broader field of energy analysis, in part by expanding along the energy conversion chain from primary and final energy to useful energy and energy services, which satisfy human needs. After evolution and specialization, the field of energy analysis today addresses topics along the entire energy conversion chain, including energy conversion systems, energy resources, carbon emissions, and the role of energy services in promoting human well-being and development. And the expanded field would benefit from a common analysis framework that provides data structure uniformity and methodological consistency. Building upon recent advances in related fields, we propose a physical supply-use table energy analysis framework consisting of four matrices from which the input-output structure of an energy conversion chain can be determined and the effects of changes in final demand can be estimated. Real-world examples demonstrate the physical supply-use table framework via investigation of energy analysis questions for a United Kingdom energy conversion chain. The physical supply use table framework has two key methodological advances over the building blocks that precede it, namely extending a common energy analysis framework through to energy services and application of physical supply-use tables to both energy and exergy analysis. The methodological advances enable the following first-time contributions to the literature: (1) performing energy and exergy analyses on an energy conversion chain using physical supply-use table matrices comprised of disaggregated products in physical units when the last stage is any of final energy, useful energy, or energy services; (2) performing structural path analysis on an energy conversion chain; and (3) developing and utilizing a matrix approach to inhomogeneous units. The framework spans the entire energy conversion chain and is suitable for many sub-fields of energy analysis, including net energy analysis, societal energy analysis, human needs and well-being, and structural path analysis, all of which are explored in this paper

Pervasive Decentralisation of Digital Infrastructures: A Framework for Blockchain enabled System and Use Case Analysis

Technological innovation and consequential decentralisation are driving forces in the ongoing evolution and increasing openness of digital infrastructures and services. One of the most discussed and allegedly disruptive innovations is the distributed database technology referred to as blockchain. Although it is still in its technological infancy, experimental adoption and customization seem to be in full progress in various potential fields of application ranging from decentralized grids for computation and storage to global financial services. However, the technology and its path of development still entail a lot of common unknowns for practitioners and researchers alike. Especially regarding the question how the technology could amend or be incorporated into the existing landscape of digital services, processes and infrastructures. Hence, in this article we develop an ontology that (1) clearly delineates common terminology, core concepts and components, their relationships as well as innovative features of blockchain technology. It further (2) connects these insights with implications for relevant types of digital market models. Our framework is of high theoretical and practical value as it provides researchers and practitioners a common basis for communication and means for guided analysis of blockchain applicability

Attribute based component design: Supporting model driven development in CbSE

In analysing the evolution of Software Engineering, the scale of the components has increased, the requirements for different domains become complex and a variety of different component frameworks and their associated models have emerged. Many modern component frameworks provide enterprise level facilities and services, such as instance management, and component container support, that allow developers to apply if needed to manage scale and complexity. Although the services provided by these frameworks are common, they have different models and implementation. Accordingly, the main problem is, when developing a component based application using a component framework, the design of the components becomes tightly integrated with the framework implementation and the framework model is embedded in the component functionality, and hence reduces reusability. Another problem arose is, the designers must have in-depth knowledge of the implementation of a component framework to be able to model, design and implement the components and take advantages of the services provided. To address these problems, this research proposes the Attribute based Component Design (AbCD) approach which allows developers to model software using logical and abstract components at the specification level. The components encapsulate the provided functionality, as well as the required services, runtime requirements and interaction models using a set of attributes. These attributes are systemically derived by grouping common features and services from light weight component frameworks and heavy weight component frameworks that are available in the literature. The AbCD approach consists of the AbCD Meta-model, which is an extension of the บML meta-model, and the Component Design Guidelines (CDG) that includes core Component based Software Engineering principles to assist the modelling process for designers. To support the AbCD approach, an implementation has been developed as a set of plug-ins, called the AbCD tool suite, for Eclipse IDE. An evaluation of the AbCD approach is conducted by using the tool suite with two case studies. The first case study focuses on abstraction achieved by the AbCD approach and the second focuses on reusability of the components. The evaluation shows that the artefacts produced using the approach provide an alternative architectural view to the design and help to re-factor the design based on aspects. At the same time the evaluation process identified possible improvements in the AbCD meta-model and the tool suite constructed. This research provides a non-invasive approach for designing component based software using model driven development

Fostering the Adoption of DMP in Small Research Projects through a Collaborative Approach

In order to promote sound management of research data the European Commission, under the Horizon 2020 framework program, is promoting the adoption of a Data Management Plan (DMP) in research projects. Despite the value of a DMP to make data findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR) through time, the development and implementation of DMPs is not yet a common practice in health research. Raising the awareness of researchers in small projects to the benefits of early adoption of a DMP is, therefore, a motivator for others to follow suit. In this paper we describe an approach to engage researchers in the writing of a DMP, in an ongoing project, FrailSurvey, in which researchers are collecting data through a mobile application for self-assessment of fragility. The case study is supported by interviews, a metadata creation session, as well as the validation of recommendations by researchers. With the outline of our process we also outline tools and services that supported the development of the DMP in this small project, particularly since there were no institutional services available to researcher

Institutional conditions for integrated mobility services (IMS): Towards a framework for analysis

The present text is a theoretical framework that has been developed with the aim to generate knowledge of and policy recommendations for the promotion of integrated mobility services (IMS), with specific regard to institutional dimensions. Integrated mobility services are services where the passenger’s transport needs are met by a service that not only integrates a range of mobility services, both public and private, but also provides one-stop access to all services through a common interface. These types of services are currently being developed in several cities globally, and the purpose of the project is to understand and explain how institutions can enable, but also impede, their realization. Institutions are defined as a relatively stable collection of rules and practices, embedded in structures that enable action. In the project a broad theoretical approach, developed by an interdisciplinary research team, will be applied. As such, the framework includes factors at the macro, meso and micro levels, thus including extensive societal trends as well as individual\u27s needs and behaviour. The macro level includes broader social and political factors, including both formal rules and more informal social norms and perceptions. The division between formal and informal variables recur on the meso and micro levels respectively. The meso level – which includes both public and private actors at regional and local levels – consists of both formal institutional factors such as taxation and regulations, and informal factors such as organizational culture and inherited networks between regional actors. Each actor enters the collaborative processes that signify IMS with their own ideals, interests and expectations, and it is in these processes of negotiation that the framework takes it point of departure. It is also in this context that business models will be developed, another central aspect of the realisation of IMS. Finally, the framework also includes the micro level, where an individual perspective is placed at centre stage. Individuals are affected by various formal incentives and push factors, as well as more informal aspects such as self-image and social status. Through the application of the framework in a number of case studies, empirical findings will help illuminate which institutional factors enable or constrain the development of IMS. The findings will provide the empirical and analytical foundation for suggestions on how formal and informal rules and practices can be modified to enable new IMS to contribute to sustainable mobility