User interface development and software environments : the Chiron-1 system

User interface development systems for software environments have to cope with the broad, extensible and dynamic character of such environments, must support internal and external integration, and should enable various software development strategies. The Chiron-1 system adapts and extends key ideas from current research in user interface development systems to address the particular demands of software environments. Important Chiron-1 concepts are: separation of concerns, dynamism, and open architecture. We discuss the requirements on such user interface development systems, present the Chiron-1 architecture and a scenario of its usage, detail the concepts it embodies, and report on its design and prototype implementation

Report of the Stanford Linked Data Workshop

The Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources (SULAIR) with the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) conducted at week-long workshop on the prospects for a large scale, multi-national, multi-institutional prototype of a Linked Data environment for discovery of and navigation among the rapidly, chaotically expanding array of academic information resources. As preparation for the workshop, CLIR sponsored a survey by Jerry Persons, Chief Information Architect emeritus of SULAIR that was published originally for workshop participants as background to the workshop and is now publicly available. The original intention of the workshop was to devise a plan for such a prototype. However, such was the diversity of knowledge, experience, and views of the potential of Linked Data approaches that the workshop participants turned to two more fundamental goals: building common understanding and enthusiasm on the one hand and identifying opportunities and challenges to be confronted in the preparation of the intended prototype and its operation on the other. In pursuit of those objectives, the workshop participants produced:1. a value statement addressing the question of why a Linked Data approach is worth prototyping;2. a manifesto for Linked Libraries (and Museums and Archives and …);3. an outline of the phases in a life cycle of Linked Data approaches;4. a prioritized list of known issues in generating, harvesting & using Linked Data;5. a workflow with notes for converting library bibliographic records and other academic metadata to URIs;6. examples of potential “killer apps” using Linked Data: and7. a list of next steps and potential projects.This report includes a summary of the workshop agenda, a chart showing the use of Linked Data in cultural heritage venues, and short biographies and statements from each of the participants

Automating SLA-Driven API Development with SLA4OAI

The OpenAPI Specification (OAS) is the de facto standard to describe RESTful APIs from a functional perspective. OAS has been a success due to its simple model and the wide ecosystem of tools supporting the SLA-Driven API development lifecycle. Unfortunately, the current OAS scope ignores crucial information for an API such as its Service Level Agreement (SLA). Therefore, in terms of description and management of non-functional information, the disadvantages of not having a standard include the vendor lock-in and prevent the ecosystem to grow and handle extra functional aspects. In this paper, we present SLA4OAI, pioneering in extending OAS not only allowing the specification of SLAs, but also supporting some stages of the SLA-Driven API lifecycle with an open-source ecosystem. Finally, we validate our proposal having modeled 5488 limitations in 148 plans of 35 real-world APIs and show an initial interest from the industry with 600 and 1900 downloads and installs of the SLA Instrumentation Library and the SLA Engine.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad TIN2015-70560-RMinisterio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades RTI2018-101204-B-C21Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte FPU15/0298

Optimizing the flash-RAM energy trade-off in deeply embedded systems

Deeply embedded systems often have the tightest constraints on energy consumption, requiring that they consume tiny amounts of current and run on batteries for years. However, they typically execute code directly from flash, instead of the more energy efficient RAM. We implement a novel compiler optimization that exploits the relative efficiency of RAM by statically moving carefully selected basic blocks from flash to RAM. Our technique uses integer linear programming, with an energy cost model to select a good set of basic blocks to place into RAM, without impacting stack or data storage. We evaluate our optimization on a common ARM microcontroller and succeed in reducing the average power consumption by up to 41% and reducing energy consumption by up to 22%, while increasing execution time. A case study is presented, where an application executes code then sleeps for a period of time. For this example we show that our optimization could allow the application to run on battery for up to 32% longer. We also show that for this scenario the total application energy can be reduced, even if the optimization increases the execution time of the code

SAGA: A project to automate the management of software production systems

The SAGA system is a software environment that is designed to support most of the software development activities that occur in a software lifecycle. The system can be configured to support specific software development applications using given programming languages, tools, and methodologies. Meta-tools are provided to ease configuration. The SAGA system consists of a small number of software components that are adapted by the meta-tools into specific tools for use in the software development application. The modules are design so that the meta-tools can construct an environment which is both integrated and flexible. The SAGA project is documented in several papers which are presented

Development of an e-portfolio social network using emerging web technologies

Dissertação de mestrado em Informatics EngineeringDigital portfolios (also known as e-Portfolios) can be described as digital collections of artifacts, being both a product (a digital collection of artifacts) and a process (reflecting on those artifacts and what they represent). It is an extension of the traditional Curriculum Vitae, which tells the educational and professional milestones of someone, while the portfolio proves and qualifies them (e.g.: annually thousands of students finish a Master degree on Informatics, but only one has built Vue, Twitter or Facebook – the Portfolio goes beyond the CV milestones by specifying the person’s output throughout life and distinguishing them). e-Portfolios augment this by introducing new digital representations and workflows, exposed to a community, being both a product and a process. This approach can be useful for individual self-reflection, education or even job markets, where companies seek talented individuals, because it expands the traditional CV concept and empowers individual merit. There have been many studies, theories, and methodologies related with e-Portfolios, but transpositions to web applications have been unsuccessful, untuitive and too complex (in opposition to the CV format, which had success in various applications, for example LinkedIn). This project aims to study new approaches and develop an exploratory web/mobile application of this method ology, by exploring the potential of social networks to promote them, augmented by emergent web technologies. Its main output is the prototype of a new product (a social network of e-Portfolio) and its design decisions, with new theoretical approaches applied to web development. By the end of this project, we will have idealized a web infrastructure for interacting with networks of users, their skills, and communities seeking them. The approach to the development of this platform will be to integrate emerging technologies like WebAssembly and Rust in its development cycle and document our findings. At the end of this project, in addition to the prototype of a new product, we hope to have contributed to the State of the Art of Web Engineering and to be able to answer questions regarding new emerging web development ecosystems.Os portfólios digitais (também conhecidos como e-Portfolios) podem ser descritos como coleções digitais de artefatos, sendo tanto um produto (uma coleção digital de artefatos) quanto um processo (refletindo sobre esses artefatos e o que eles representam). É uma extensão do tradicional Curriculum Vitae, onde o primeiro conta os marcos educacionais e profissionais de alguém, enquanto que o segundo, o Portfólio, comprova-os e qualifica-os (e.g.: anualmente milhares de alunos concluem graduações em Informática, no entanto apenas um consebeu o Vue, o Twitter ou o Facebook - o Portfólio vai além dos indicadores quantitativos do CV, especificando e qualificando a produção da pessoa ao longo da vida e distinguindo-a). Os e-Portfolios expandem este conceito com a introdução de novas representações digitais e fluxos de trabalho, expostos a uma comunidade, sendo tanto um produto como um processo. Esta abordagem pode ser útil para a autorreflexão individual, educação ou mesmo mercados de trabalho, onde as empresas procuram indivíduos talentosos, porque expande o conceito tradicional de CV e potencializa o mérito individual. Existem muitos estudos, teorias e metodologias relacionadas com os e-Portfolios, mas as transposições para aplicações web têm sido mal sucedidas, pouco intuitivas e muito complexas (em oposição ao formato CV, que tem tido sucesso em várias aplicações, por exemplo no LinkedIn). Este projeto visa estudar novas abordagens neste domínio e desenvolver uma aplicação exploratória web/mobile que melhor exprima os e-Portfolios, explorando o potencial das redes sociais para os promover em conjunto com tecnologias web emergentes. As principais produções esperadadas deste trabalho são um protótipo de um novo produto (uma rede social de e-Portfolio) e documentar novas abordagens teóricas aplicadas ao desenvolvimento web. No final deste projeto, teremos idealizado uma infraestrutura web para interagir com redes de utilizadores, as suas competências e comunidades que os procurem. A abordagem ao desenvolvimento desta plataforma será integrar tecnologias emergentes como WebAssembly e Rust no seu ciclo de desenvolvimento e documentar as nossas descobertas e decisões. No final deste projeto, para além do protótipo de uma plataforma, esperamos ter contribuido para o Estado da Arte da Engenharia Web e responder a questões sobre novos ecossistemas emergentes de desenvolvimento web

End-of-life management of solid oxide fuel cells

This thesis reports on research undertaken to investigate the end-of-life management of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), through the definition of a framework and the development of a multicriteria evaluation methodology which together support comparison of alternative end-of-life scenarios. The primary objective of this research is to develop an understanding of the challenges and opportunities arising during the end-of-life phase of the technology, such that any conflicts with end-of-life requirements might be addressed and opportunities for optimising the end-of-life phase fully exploited. The research contributions can be considered in four principal parts. The first part comprises a review of SOFC technology and its place in future sustainable energy scenarios, alongside a review of a growing body of legislation which embodies concepts such as Extended Producer Responsibility and Integrated Product Policy. When considered in the context of the life cycle assessment literature, which clearly points to a lack of knowledge regarding the end-of-life phase of the SOFC life cycle, this review concludes that the requirement for effective end-of life management of SOFC products is an essential consideration prior to the widespread adoption of commercial products. The second part of the research defines a framework for end-of-life management of SOFCs, which supports clarification of the challenges presented by the SOFC stack waste stream, as well as identifying a systematic approach for addressing these challenges through the development of alternative end-of-life management scenarios. The framework identifies a need to evaluate the effectiveness of these end-of-life scenarios according to three performance criteria: legislative compliance; environmental impact; and economic impact. The third part of the research is concerned with the development of a multi-criteria evaluation methodology, which combines conventional evaluation methods such as life cycle assessment and cost-benefit analysis, with a novel risk assessment tool for evaluating compliance with current and future legislation. A decision support tool builds on existing multi-criteria decision making methods to provide a comparative performance indicator for identification of an end of-life scenario demonstrating low risk of non-compliance with future legislation; low environmental impact; and a low cost-benefit ratio. Finally, the validity of the framework for end-of-life management is tested through the completion of two case studies. These case studies demonstrate the flexibility of the framework in supporting a reactive end-of-life management approach, whereby end-of-life management is constrained by characteristics of the product design, and a proactive approach, whereby the impact of design modification on the end-of-life phase is explored. In summary, the research clearly highlights the significance of the end-of-life stage of the SOFC life cycle. On the one hand, failure to manage end-of-life products effectively risks undermining the environmental credentials of the technology and is likely to lead to the loss of a high-value, resource-rich material stream. On the other hand, the early consideration of aspects identified in the research, especially while opportunities remain to influence final product design, represents a real opportunity for optimising the end-of-life management of SOFC products in such a way as to fully realise their potential as a clean and efficient power generation solution for the future