Reuse metrics and measurement: A framework

The lessons learned and experience gleaned are described by those who have started to implement the reuse metrics and measurement framework used in controlling the development of common avionics and software for its affiliated aircraft programs. The framework was developed to permit the measurement of the long term cost/benefits resulting from the creation and use of Reusable Software Objects (RSOs). The framework also monitors the efficiency and effectiveness of the Software Reuse Library (SRL). The metrics and measurement framework is defined which was established to allow some determinations and findings to be made relative to software reuse. Seven criteria are discussed which were used to guide the establishment of the proposed reuse framework. Object recapture and creation metrics are explained along with their normalized use in effort, productivity, and quality determination. A single and multiple reuse instance version of a popular cost model is presented which uses these metrics and the measurement scheme proposed to predict the software effort and duration under various reuse assumptions. Studies in using this model to predict actuals taken from the RCI data base of over 1000 completed projects is discussed

Software Patents: What One-Click Buy and Safe Air Travel Have in Common

Have you ever sat in an airplane, typing on your laptop, when the darn thing crashes for the one-millionth time? Have you ever then thought about how the airplane you are sitting in is controlled by software, too--the technical term being fly by wire --and then started sweating uncontrollably? Software controls not only air traffic but plenty of other safety-critical technologies: the tightrope walk of controlling the chain reaction of radioactive elements in nuclear power plants; the navigation and activation of missiles;3 the moves and cutting-depth of a surgical laser when correcting eye-sights; the list goes on... With such reliance on software, malfunction due to errors in the program code becomes unacceptable. Software patents help heighten the standard by supporting the re-use of the code of established and tested systems

Reusability in software engineering

This paper surveys recent work concerning reusability in software engineering. The current directions in software reusability are discussed, and the two major approaches of reusable building blocks and reusable patterns studied. An extensive bibliography, parts of which are annotated, is included

Software development: A paradigm for the future

A new paradigm for software development that treats software development as an experimental activity is presented. It provides built-in mechanisms for learning how to develop software better and reusing previous experience in the forms of knowledge, processes, and products. It uses models and measures to aid in the tasks of characterization, evaluation and motivation. An organization scheme is proposed for separating the project-specific focus from the organization's learning and reuse focuses of software development. The implications of this approach for corporations, research and education are discussed and some research activities currently underway at the University of Maryland that support this approach are presented

A Classification of Scripting Systems for Entertainment and Serious Computer Games

The technology base for modern computer games is usually provided by a game engine. Many game engines have built-in dedicated scripting languages that allow the development of complete games that are built using those engines, as well as extensive modification of existing games through scripting alone. While some of these game engines implement proprietary languages, others use existing scripting systems that have been modified according to the game engine's requirements. Scripting languages generally provide a very high level of abstraction method for syntactically controlling the behaviour of their host applications and different types of scripting system allow different types of modification of their underlying host application. In this paper we propose a simple classification for scripting systems used in computer games for entertainment and serious purposes

Shanzhai products and sustainable design

This paper investigates a possible solution to the need for sustainable design through a study of shanzhai products notable for their low price and quality and sometimes, even by their exaggerated design. Their existence reflects a need in China’s post-communist society to provide its population with the kinds of material goods typically associated with capitalist economies in which the advances of science and technology have been applied to the research, design and manufacture of desirable products. Political and economic expediency has meant that because of its need to ‘catch up’ with western markets, China has increasingly tended to copy western designs which it makes affordable to its own population by avoiding research and development costs. This paper will selectively examine and define the concepts and principles of shanzhai products and compare them with those of sustainable design. Although Shanzhai is satisfying in the short-term some of the materialist demands of the Chinese population, it may also be seen as detrimental to the longer-term issues of resources, sustainability and innovation

Engineering multiple levels of specificity in an RNA viral vector

Synthetic molecular circuits could provide powerful therapeutic capabilities, but delivering them to specific cell types and controlling them remains challenging. An ideal "smart" viral delivery system would enable controlled release of viral vectors from "sender" cells, conditional entry into target cells based on cell-surface proteins, conditional replication specifically in target cells based on their intracellular protein content, and an evolutionarily robust system that allows viral elimination with drugs. Here, combining diverse technologies and components, including pseudotyping, engineered bridge proteins, degrons, and proteases, we demonstrate each of these control modes in a model system based on the rabies virus. This work shows how viral and protein engineering can enable delivery systems with multiple levels of control to maximize therapeutic specificity

Strategic Directions in Object-Oriented Programming

This paper has provided an overview of the field of object-oriented programming. After presenting a historical perspective and some major achievements in the field, four research directions were introduced: technologies integration, software components, distributed programming, and new paradigms. In general there is a need to continue research in traditional areas:\ud (1) as computer systems become more and more complex, there is a need to further develop the work on architecture and design; \ud (2) to support the development of complex systems, there is a need for better languages, environments, and tools; \ud (3) foundations in the form of the conceptual framework and other theories must be extended to enhance the means for modeling and formal analysis, as well as for understanding future computer systems

Optical fiber sensors for coal mine shaft integrity and equipment condition monitoring

Shaft is an important structure of mine. Deep mining increases mine pressure, induces shaft deformation and affects mine normal lifting. How to improve the inspection efficiency, reduce the maintenance cost and ensure the normal operation of the shaft is an important problem facing the mine. The paper introduces the optical fiber sensing technology to monitor the equipment status of the main shaft, puts forward the implementation scheme of the optical fiber monitoring of shaft deformation, and sets up a shaft equipment condition monitoring system based on the optical fiber sensing technology. It can realize equipment displacement monitoring, strain monitoring and vibration signal monitoring in the process of shaft operation. Comprehensive on-line monitoring of shaft running state can be realized, which opens up a new method for shaft deformation monitoring technology. Fiber optic sensing monitoring technology is of great significance to the safe operation of shaft