Enriching MATLAB with aspect-oriented features for developing embedded systems

This article presents an approach to enrich the MATLAB language with aspect-oriented modularity features, enabling developers to experiment different implementation characteristics and to acquire runtime data and traces without polluting their base MATLAB code. We propose a language through which programmers configure the low-level data representation of variables and expressions. Examples include specifically-tailored fixed-point data representations leading to more efficient support for the underlying hardware, e.g., digital signal processors and application-specific architectures, without built-in floating point units. This approach assists developers in adding handlers and monitoring features in a non-invasive way as well as configuring MATLAB functions with optimized implementations. Different aspect modules can be used to retarget common MATLAB code bases for different purposes and implementations. We validate the proposed approach with a set of representative examples where we attain a simple way to explore a number of properties. Experiment results and collected aspect-oriented software metrics lend support to the claims on its usefulness.This work was partially supported by FCT (Portuguese Science Foundation) under the project AMADEUS (POCTI, PTDC/EIA/70271/2006)

A multiple view interactive environment to support MATLAB and GNU/Octave program comprehension

Program comprehension plays an important role in Software Engineering. In fact, many of the software lifecycle activities depend on program comprehension. Despite the importance of MATLAB and Octave programing languages in the Engineering and Statistical communities, little attention has been paid to the conception, implementation and characterization of tools and techniques for the comprehension of programs written in these languages. Considering this scenario, this paper presents a Multiple View Interactive Environment (MVIE) called OctMiner that supports the comprehension of programs developed in the aforementioned languages. OctMiner provides a set of coordinated visual metaphors that can be adjusted in accordance with the comprehension goals. An example is presented to illustrate the main functionalities of OctMiner in a real scenario of program comprehension.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Scaffolding MATLAB and octave software comprehension through visualization

Multiple view interactive environments (MVIEs) provide visual resources to support the comprehension of a specific domain dataset. For any domain, different views can be selected and configured in a real time fashion to be better adjusted to the user needs. This paper focuses on the use of a MVIE called OctMiner to support the comprehension of MATLAB and GNU/Octave programs. The authors conducted a case study to characterize the use of OctMiner in the context of comprehension activities. Results provide preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of OctMiner to support the comprehension of programs written in MATLAB and Octave.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

A concern visualization approach for improving MATLAB and octave program comprehension

The literature has pointed out the need for focusing efforts to better support comprehension of MATLAB and Octave programs. Despite being largely used in the industry and academia in the engineering domain, programs and routines written in those languages still require efforts to propose approaches and tools for its understanding. Considering the use of crosscutting concerns (CCCs) to support the comprehension of object-oriented programs, there is room of its use in the context of MATLAB and Octave programs. The literature has purpose and examples in this direction. Considering this scenario, we propose the use of visualization enriched with CCCs representation to support the comprehension of such programs. This paper discusses the use of a multiple view interactive environment called OctMiner in the context of two case studies to characterize how collected information relating to crosscutting concerns can foster the comprehension of MATLAB and GNU/Octave programs. As a result of the conducted case studies, we propose strategies based on OctMiner and tailored to support different comprehension activities of programs written in MATLAB and Octave.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

On the use of a multiple view interactive environment for MATLAB and octave program comprehension

WOS:000364988500049 (Nº de Acesso Web of Science)MATLAB or GNU/Octave programs can become very large and complex and therefore difficult to understand and maintain. The objective of this paper is presenting an approach to mitigate this problem, based upon a multiple view interactive environment (MVIE) called OctMiner. The latter provides visual resources to support program comprehension, namely the selection and configuration of several views to meet developers’ needs. For validation purposes, the authors conducted two case studies to characterize the use of OctMiner in the context of software comprehension activities. The results provided initial evidences of its effectiveness to support the comprehension of programs written in the aforementioned languages

Analysis of Code Blocks for Concern Detection in MATLAB Systems

It is known that the support provided by MATLAB for module decomposition is limited. Such limitations give rise to code symptoms, which can be explored for the development of techniques for the detection of concerns, namely unmodularised concerns. Recent work in the area of concern detection in MATLAB systems identified several recurring code patterns that can be associated to the presence of specific concerns. Some of the concerns detected proved to be unmodularised: they cut across the MATLAB system’s modular decomposition. The techniques already developed for detecting unmodularised concerns in MATLAB systems still lack precision and accuracy. As proposed in previous work, the techniques and tools for pinpointing and representing concern-detection patterns need maturing. This thesis contributes with a more accurate structure for representing MATLAB code bases in an intelligent repository for MATLAB code, developed prior to this work. It perfects the structure representing MATLAB code on which the repository is based, by refining the notion of code block, and collects code patterns found in previous publications aggregating them into a catalogue. Subsequently, a preliminary study is made on the application of codes of blocks for the detection of concerns, validating previous concern related patterns and evaluate the existence of new ones

Econometrics meets sentiment : an overview of methodology and applications

The advent of massive amounts of textual, audio, and visual data has spurred the development of econometric methodology to transform qualitative sentiment data into quantitative sentiment variables, and to use those variables in an econometric analysis of the relationships between sentiment and other variables. We survey this emerging research field and refer to it as sentometrics, which is a portmanteau of sentiment and econometrics. We provide a synthesis of the relevant methodological approaches, illustrate with empirical results, and discuss useful software

AspectMatlab++: Annotations, Types, and Aspects for Scientists

Abstract In this paper we present extensions to an aspect oriented compiler developed for MATLAB. These extensions are intended to support important functionality for scientists, and include pattern matching on annotations, and types of variables, as well as new manners of exposing context. We provide use-cases of these features in the form of several general-use aspects which focus on solving issues that arise from use of dynamically-typed languages. We also detail performance enhancements to the ASPECTMATLAB compiler which result in an order of magnitude in performance gains

Experimental Characterization of Vascular Tissue Viscoelasticity with Emphasis on Elastin's Role

Elucidating how cardiovascular biomechanics is regulated during health and disease is critical for developing diagnostic and therapeutic methods. The extracellular matrix of cardiovascular tissue is composed of multiple fibrillar networks embedded in an amorphous ground substance and has been found to reveal time-dependent mechanical behavior. Given the multiscale nature of tissue biomechanics, an accurate description of cardiovascular biomechanics can be obtained only when microstructural morphology is characterized and put together in correlation with tissue-scale mechanics. This study constitutes the initial steps toward a full description of cardiovascular tissue biomechanics by examining two fundamental questions: How does the elastin microstructure change with tissue-level deformations? And how does the extracellular matrix composition affect tissue biomechanics? The outcome of this dissertation is believed to contribute to the field of cardiovascular tissue biomechanics by addressing some of the fundamental existing questions therein. Assessing alterations in microstructural morphology requires quantified measures which can be challenging given the complex, local and interconnected conformations of tissue structural components embedded in the extracellular matrix. In this study, new image-based methods for quantification of tissue microstructure were developed and examined on aortic tissue under different deformation states. Although in their infancy stages of development, the methods yielded encouraging results consistent with existing perceptions of tissue deformation. Changes in microstructure were investigated by examining histological images of deformed and undeformed tissues. The observations shed light on roles of elastin network in regulating tissue deformation. The viscoelastic behavior of specimens was studied using native, collagen-denatured, and elastin-isolated aortic tissues. The stress-relaxation responses of specimens provide insight into the significance of extracellular matrix composition on tissue biomechanics and how the tissue hydration affects the relaxation behavior. The responses were approximated by traditional spring-dashpot models and the results were interpreted in regards to microstructural composition