Model-driven performance evaluation for service engineering

Service engineering and service-oriented architecture as an integration and platform technology is a recent approach to software systems integration. Software quality aspects such as performance are of central importance for the integration of heterogeneous, distributed service-based systems. Empirical performance evaluation is a process of measuring and calculating performance metrics of the implemented software. We present an approach for the empirical, model-based performance evaluation of services and service compositions in the context of model-driven service engineering. Temporal databases theory is utilised for the empirical performance evaluation of model-driven developed service systems

Ontology-based modelling of architectural styles

The conceptual modelling of software architectures is of central importance for the quality of a software system. A rich modelling language is required to integrate the different aspects of architecture modelling, such as architectural styles, structural and behavioural modelling, into a coherent framework. Architectural styles are often neglected in software architectures. We propose an ontological approach for architectural style modelling based on description logic as an abstract, meta-level modelling instrument. We introduce a framework for style definition and style combination. The application of the ontological framework in the form of an integration into existing architectural description notations is illustrated

Activity, Distribution, and Density of Brown Rats (Rattus norvegicus) on Misali Island, Pemba Island, Tanzania

This project investigated the activity, distribution, and density of brown rats (R. norvegicus) on Misali Island, Pemba. These factors were studied through field observations conducted over a 21-day observation period. Brown rats were highest in density around areas of human activity, attracted to the detritus, an ample food source. Although highest in density in these areas, a greater total population of brown rats was distributed in the coastal forest due to its proportion of area on the overall island. In the forest, the rats were most active along the coastal sections for unknown and unexplored reasons – possibly due to regular ocean detritus. Based on ad hoc observations, the rats pose some threats to native flora and fauna including disease and out-competition. Brown rats are considered pests on Misali Island, as they destroy human infrastructure and property. The project establishes baseline information to address this problem and reduce the impact of rats on conservation in this protected area

Quality-aware model-driven service engineering

Service engineering and service-oriented architecture as an integration and platform technology is a recent approach to software systems integration. Quality aspects ranging from interoperability to maintainability to performance are of central importance for the integration of heterogeneous, distributed service-based systems. Architecture models can substantially influence quality attributes of the implemented software systems. Besides the benefits of explicit architectures on maintainability and reuse, architectural constraints such as styles, reference architectures and architectural patterns can influence observable software properties such as performance. Empirical performance evaluation is a process of measuring and evaluating the performance of implemented software. We present an approach for addressing the quality of services and service-based systems at the model-level in the context of model-driven service engineering. The focus on architecture-level models is a consequence of the black-box character of services

Giving voice to everyday characters in extraordinary circumstances

Giving voice to everyday characters in extraordinary circumstances -- Undesirable donor -- Blowfish -- Behind the lavender doo

Sprat: Hierarchies of Domain-Specific Languages for Marine Ecosystem Simulation Engineering

Scientific software is becoming more complex and its development nowadays is often an interdisciplinary process in which usually scientists - most of them without training in software engineering - implement the software themselves. To help them achieve a good code quality, we propose to employ a process called Sprat based on the concept of hierarchies of domain-specific languages (DSLs). In such a hierarchy, every DSL constitutes an implementation platform for the DSL directly above it. Each role in the development process (i.e., a scientist from a specific discipline) implements a layer of the software in a DSL belonging to the hierarchy. Therefore, the scientists only deal with abstractions they are familiar with from their respective domain and a clear separation of components is attained. To evaluate the Sprat approach, we present its application to the development of the Sprat simulation - a marine ecosystem model for long-term fish stock prediction