Ada in AI or AI in Ada. On developing a rationale for integration

The use of Ada as an Artificial Intelligence (AI) language is gaining interest in the NASA Community, i.e., by parties who have a need to deploy Knowledge Based-Systems (KBS) compatible with the use of Ada as the software standard for the Space Station. A fair number of KBS and pseudo-KBS implementations in Ada exist today. Currently, no widely used guidelines exist to compare and evaluate these with one another. The lack of guidelines illustrates a fundamental problem inherent in trying to compare and evaluate implementations of any sort in languages that are procedural or imperative in style, such as Ada, with those in languages that are functional in style, such as Lisp. Discussed are the strengths and weakness of using Ada as an AI language and a preliminary analysis provided of factors needed for the development of criteria for the integration of these two families of languages and the environments in which they are implemented. The intent for developing such criteria is to have a logical rationale that may be used to guide the development of Ada tools and methodology to support KBS requirements, and to identify those AI technology components that may most readily and effectively be deployed in Ada

Ada as an implementation language for knowledge based systems

Debates about the selection of programming languages often produce cultural collisions that are not easily resolved. This is especially true in the case of Ada and knowledge based programming. The construction of programming tools provides a desirable alternative for resolving the conflict

Secure Software Engineering Education: Knowledge Area, Curriculum and Resources

This paper reviews current efforts and resources in secure software engineering education, with the goal of providing guidance for educators to make use of these resources in developing secure software engineering curriculum. These resources include Common Body of Knowledge, reference curriculum, sample curriculum materials, hands-on exercises, and resources developed by industry and open source community. The relationship among the Common Body of Knowledge proposed by the Department of Homeland Security, the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, and ACM/IEEE are discussed. The recent practices on secure software engineering education, including secure software engineering related programs, courses, and course modules are reviewed. The course modules are categorized into four categories to facilitate the adoption of these course modules. Available hands-on exercises developed for teaching software security are described and mapped to the taxonomy of coding errors. The rich resources including various secure software development processes, methods and tools developed by industry and open source community are surveyed. A road map is provided to organize these resources and guide educators in adopting these resources and integrating them into their courses

Knowledge, programming, and programming cultures: LISP, C, and Ada

The results of research 'Ada as an implementation language for knowledge based systems' are presented. The purpose of the research was to compare Ada to other programming languages. The report focuses on the programming languages Ada, C, and Lisp, the programming cultures that surround them, and the programming paradigms they support

A First Course in Software Engineering for Aerospace Engineers

Software is a critical component of mission capability in all aerospace systems. This capability is realized directly through the use of onboard software, and enabled through the use of software on ground support systems. Students attending an aerospace engineering program come with a highly diversified background in software development ranging from novice user to expert programmer. A first course in software development has to account for the diversity, and as an outcome provide both a common vocabulary, as well as a common baseline of skills. This paper presents our learning from designing and teaching such a course for aerospace engineering undergraduates