Do we really need to write documentation for a system? CASE tool add-ons: generator+editor for a precise documentation

One of the common problems of system development projects is that the system documentation is often outdated and does not describe the latest version of the system. The situation is even more complicated if we are speaking not about a natural language description of the system, but about its formal specification. In this paper we discuss how the problem could be solved by updating the documentation automatically, by generating a new formal specification from the model if the model is frequently changed.Comment: In Proceedings International Conference on Model-Driven Engineering and Software Development (MODELSWARD'13

Making automated computer program documentation a feature of total system design

It is pointed out that in large-scale computer software systems, program documents are too often fraught with errors, out of date, poorly written, and sometimes nonexistent in whole or in part. The means are described by which many of these typical system documentation problems were overcome in a large and dynamic software project. A systems approach was employed which encompassed such items as: (1) configuration management; (2) standards and conventions; (3) collection of program information into central data banks; (4) interaction among executive, compiler, central data banks, and configuration management; and (5) automatic documentation. A complete description of the overall system is given

Documentation for the token ring network simulation system

A manual is presented which describes the language features of the Token Ring Network Simulation System. The simulation system is a powerful simulation tool for token ring networks which allows the specification of various Medium Access Control (MAC) layer protocols as well as the specification of various features of upper layer ISO protocols. In addition to these features, it also allows the user to specify message and station classes virtually to any degree of detail desired. The choice of a language instead of an interactive system to specify network parameters was dictated by both flexibility and time considerations. The language was developed specifically for the simulation system, and is very simple. It is also user friendly in that language elements which do not apply to the case at hand are ignored rather than treated as errors

Program documentation standards

A style manual is presented to serve as a reference and guide for system and program documentation. It is intended to set standards for documentation, prescribing the procedures to be followed, format to be used, and information to be produced. The standards for program documentation specify the extent to which the programmer should support his efforts in writing. The first three sections of the manual (system, program, and operation descriptions) contain information of particular interest to management, operators, and program users, respectively. Each section was designed as a self-sufficient description from the management, operator, or user point of view

Accounting for secrets

The Soviet dictatorship used secrecy to shield its processes from external scrutiny. A system of accounting for classified documentation assured the protection of secrets. The associated procedures resemble a turnover tax applied to government transactions. There is evidence of both compliance and evasion. The burden of secrecy was multiplied because the system was also secret and so had to account for itself. Unique documentation of a small regional bureaucracy, the Lithuania KGB, is exploited to yield an estimate of the burden. Measured against available benchmarks, the burden looks surprisingly heavy

Documentation of landslides and inaccessible parts of a mine using an unmanned uav system and methods of digital terrestrial photogrammetry

Quite a big boom has recently been experienced in the technology of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). In conjunction with dense matching system, it gives one a powerful tool for the creation of digital terrain models and orthophotomaps. This system was used for the documentation of landslides and inaccessible parts of the Nástup Tušimice mine in the North Bohemian Brown Coal Basin (Czech Republic). The images were taken by the GATEWING X100 unmanned system that automatically executed photo flights an area of interest. For detailed documentation of selected parts of the mine, we used the method of digital terrestrial photogrammetry. The main objective was to find a suitable measurement technology for operational targeting of landslides and inaccessible parts of the mine, in order to prepare the basics for remediation work

Survey and documentation of emerging technologies for the Satellite Power System (SPS)

The genesis of the solar power satellite (SPS) concept is reviewed historically and the original assumptions and guidelines which led to development of the SPS reference system design concept are discussed. Some guidelines are applicable to almost any SPS design, but others can be changed, leading to new and perhaps preferable systems. In order to stimulate new SPS concepts and to facilitate comparative assessment of emerging SPS technologies, one useful approach is to break the overall system into functional parts. The system functions which must be performed by any SPS concept and the interrelations between them are discussed and a systematic framework is presented for assessing the wide variety of system concepts and subsystem technologies which have been proposed. About 80 alternative SPS technologies are reviewed

Industrial-Strength Documentation for ACL2

The ACL2 theorem prover is a complex system. Its libraries are vast. Industrial verification efforts may extend this base with hundreds of thousands of lines of additional modeling tools, specifications, and proof scripts. High quality documentation is vital for teams that are working together on projects of this scale. We have developed XDOC, a flexible, scalable documentation tool for ACL2 that can incorporate the documentation for ACL2 itself, the Community Books, and an organization's internal formal verification projects, and which has many features that help to keep the resulting manuals up to date. Using this tool, we have produced a comprehensive, publicly available ACL2+Books Manual that brings better documentation to all ACL2 users. We have also developed an extended manual for use within Centaur Technology that extends the public manual to cover Centaur's internal books. We expect that other organizations using ACL2 will wish to develop similarly extended manuals.Comment: In Proceedings ACL2 2014, arXiv:1406.123

Product specification documentation standard and Data Item Descriptions (DID). Volume of the information system life-cycle and documentation standards, volume 3

This is the third of five volumes on Information System Life-Cycle and Documentation Standards which present a well organized, easily used standard for providing technical information needed for developing information systems, components, and related processes. This volume states the Software Management and Assurance Program documentation standard for a product specification document and for data item descriptions. The framework can be applied to any NASA information system, software, hardware, operational procedures components, and related processes