Automatic software generation and improvement through search based techniques

Writing software is a difficult and expensive task. Its automation is hence very valuable. Search algorithms have been successfully used to tackle many software engineering problems. Unfortunately, for some problems the traditional techniques have been of only limited scope, and search algorithms have not been used yet. We hence propose a novel framework that is based on a co-evolution of programs and test cases to tackle these difficult problems. This framework can be used to tackle software engineering tasks such as Automatic Refinement, Fault Correction and Improving Non-functional Criteria. These tasks are very difficult, and their automation in literature has been limited. To get a better understanding of how search algorithms work, there is the need of a theoretical foundation. That would help to get better insight of search based software engineering. We provide first theoretical analyses for search based software testing, which is one of the main components of our co-evolutionary framework. This thesis gives the important contribution of presenting a novel framework, and we then study its application to three difficult software engineering problems. In this thesis we also give the important contribution of defining a first theoretical foundation.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Program and Abstracts of the Annual Meeting of the Georgia Academy of Science, 2014

The annual meeting of the Georgia Academy of Science took place March 28-29, 2014, at Georgia Regents University, Augusta, Georgia. Presentations were provided by members of the Academy who represented the following sections: I. Biological Sciences II Chemistry III. Earth & Atmospheric Sciences IV. Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Engineering & Technology V. Biomedical Sciences VI. Philosophy & History of Science VII. Science Education VIII. Anthropology

Transforming Agriculture in Southern Africa

This book provides a synthesis of the key issues and challenges facing agriculture and food production in Southern Africa. Southern Africa is facing numerous challenges from diverse issues such as agricultural transformations, growing populations, urbanization and climate change. These challenges place great pressure on food security, agriculture, water availability and other natural resources, as well as impacting biodiversity. Drawing on case studies from Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, the chapters in this book consider these challenges from an interdisciplinary perspective, covering key areas in constraints to production, the most important building blocks of good farming practices, and established and emerging technologies. This book will be a valuable support for informing new policies and processes aimed at improving food production and security and developing sustainable agriculture in Southern Africa. This informative volume will be key reading for those interested in agricultural science, African studies, rural studies, development studies and sustainability. It will also be a valuable resource for policymakers, governmental and nongovernmental organizations, and agricultural practitioners

CITIES: Energetic Efficiency, Sustainability; Infrastructures, Energy and the Environment; Mobility and IoT; Governance and Citizenship

This book collects important contributions on smart cities. This book was created in collaboration with the ICSC-CITIES2020, held in San José (Costa Rica) in 2020. This book collects articles on: energetic efficiency and sustainability; infrastructures, energy and the environment; mobility and IoT; governance and citizenship