Computer Aided Education System SuperTest. Present and Prospective

This paper analyzes the testing and self-testing process for the Computer Aided Education System (CAES) SuperTest, used at the Academy of Economic Studies of Chisinau, Moldova and recently implemented at the University of Bacau, Romania. We discuss here the future of this software, from the Information Society and Knowledge Society point of view.computer aided, education, knowledge

Development of a Master of Software Assurance Reference Curriculum

The Next Generation Air Traffic Management system (NextGen) is a blueprint of the future National Airspace System. Supporting NextGen is a nation-wide Aviation Simulation Network (ASN), which allows integration of a variety of real-time simulations to facilitate development and validation of the NextGen software by simulating a wide range of operational scenarios. The ASN system is an environment, including both simulated and human-in-the-loop real-life components (pilots and air traffic controllers).Real Time Distributed Simulation (RTDS) developed at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, a suite of applications providing low and medium fidelity en-route simulation capabilities, is one of the simulations contributing to the ASN. To support the interconnectivity with the ASN, we designed and implemented a dedicated gateway acting as an intermediary, providing logic for two-way communication and transfer messages between RTDS and ASN and storage for the exchanged data. It has been necessary to develop and analyze safety/security requirements for the gateway software based on analysis of system assets, hazards, threats and attacks related to ultimate real-life future implementation. Due to the nature of the system, the focus was placed on communication security and the related safety of the impacted aircraft in the simulation scenario. To support development of safety/security requirements, a well-established fault tree analysis technique was used. This fault tree model-based analysis, supported by a commercial tool, was a foundation to propose mitigations assuring the gateway system safety and security

Dependable and Certifiable Real-World Systems – Issue of Software Engineering Education

Embedded software and dedicated hardware are vital elements of the modern world, from personal electronics to transportation, from communication to aerospace, from military to gaming, from medical systems to banking. Combinations of even minor hardware or software defects in a complex system may lead to violation of safety with or even without evident system failure, a major problem that the computing profession faces is the lack of a universal approach to unite the dissimilar viewpoints presented by computer science, with its discrete and mathematical underpinnings, and by computer engineering, which focuses on building real systems and considering spatial and material constraints of space, energy, and time. Modern embedded systems include both viewpoints: microprocessors running software and programmable electronic hardware created with an extensive use of software. The gap between science and engineering approaches is clearly visible in engineering education. This survey paper focuses on exploring the commonalities between building software and building hardware in an attempt to establish a new framework for rejuvenating computing education, specifically software engineering for dependable systems. We present here a perspective on software/hardware relationship, aviation system certification, role of software engineering education, and future directions in computing

Software testing environment

Dissertação de mestrado, Engenharia Electrónica e Telecomunicações, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, 2016In this thesis it is proposed a distributed software testing environment, that is able to test a wide variety of applications, such as a user space processes, kernel space processes, web applications and others. The testing environment is supported by an API of probes, where each probe has a specific test task according to its purpose. The base API can be extended to fulfil new testing requirements. This environment can be applied to general software testing, programming contests and as a support for programming classes as the Mooshak automatic judging environment. The essential differences between both these environments is where the software testing is performed. Unlike Mooshak, the proposed test environment can use client computers to do the actual test. This reduces the overhead on the server dramatically, which is especially useful when there are many test submissions simultaneously. These are the cases of classroom environments, lab environments or programming contests. Another option is to have a set of testing computers, or slaves, ready to test user code. However this way more hardware is required. The only requirements for a computer to be a slave, part of the testing environment, is that is has installed a java client application that communicates with the master computer also addressed here as the main server. On the main server a portal allows users to access this testing environment. This master computer is also responsible to distribute the testing workload, according to the choosen strategy, sending to each slave the executable and testing probes, which includes the matching pairs of inputs and expected outputs. After the slaves had performed the tests, they generate a report with information on the tests, and send it back to the master, being available to the users on the portal. To support simultaneous clients the portal is thread based, being launched a new thread to serve each new client connection. Communication between all computers in the test environment, is done using the BSD sockets API

Computer Games Are Serious Business and so is their Quality: Particularities of Software Testing in Game Development from the Perspective of Practitioners

Over the last several decades, computer games started to have a significant impact on society. However, although a computer game is a type of software, the process to conceptualize, produce and deliver a game could involve unusual features. In software testing, for instance, studies demonstrated the hesitance of professionals to use automated testing techniques with games, due to the constant changes in requirements and design, and pointed out the need for creating testing tools that take into account the flexibility required for the game development process. Goal. This study aims to improve the current body of knowledge regarding software testing in game development and point out the existing particularities observed in software testing considering the development of a computer game. Method. A mixed-method approach based on a case study and an opinion survey was applied to collect quantitative and qualitative data from software professionals regarding the particularities of software testing in game development. Results. We analyzed over 70 messages posted on three well-established network of question-and-answer communities related to software engineering, software testing and game development and received answers of 38 professionals discussing differences between testing a computer game and a general software, and identified important aspects to be observed by practitioners in the process of planning, performing and reporting tests in this context. Conclusion. Considering computer games, software testing must focus not only on the common aspects of a general software, but also, track and investigate issues that could be related to game balance, game physics and entertainment related-aspects to guarantee the quality of computer games and a successful testing process