Component-Based Development Using UML

Component-based software development (CBD) is a potential breakthrough for software engineering. Unified Modeling Language (UML) can potentially facilitate CBD design and modeling. Although many research projects concentrate on the conceptual interrelation of UML and CBD, few incorporate actual component frameworks into the discussion, which is critical for real-world software system design and modeling. This paper reviews component-based development, including the use of UML for modeling CBD. The paper then discusses the means by which UML extension mechanisms can be used to better support the popular component framework -- CORBA. Two other important component frameworks, DCOM and Web Services, are also discussed

Improving Open Source Software Usability

Usability of open source systems is becoming a relevant topic for investigation given the proliferation of open source software. General assumptions do not favor a positive relationship between the existing open source development model and good usability due to a host of social context reasons. In this paper we provide empirical evidence on this issue through a case study using an open source project called Ganttproject. Results point to likely deficiencies in the open source model. An analysis of this phenomena and some potential solutions for improving open source usability are proposed

Quality Assurance under the Open Source Development Model

The open source development model has defied traditional software development practices by generating widely accepted products (e.g., Linux, Apache, Perl) while following unconventional principles such as the distribution of free source code and massive user participation. Those achievements have initiated and supported many declarations about the potential of the open source model to accelerate the development of reliable software. However, the pronouncements in favor or against this model have been usually argumentative, lacking of empirical evidence to support either position. Our work uses a comprehensive survey to overcome those limitations. The study explores how software quality assurance is performed under the open source model, how it differs from more traditional software development models, and whether those differences could translate into practical advantages. The findings indicate that open source has certainly introduced a new dimension in large-scale distributed software development. However, we also discovered that the potential capabilities of open source could not be exploited under all scenarios. Furthermore, we found that many of the open source quality assurance activities are still evolving

Abstract Quality assurance under the open source development model

The open source development model has defied traditional software development practices by generating widely accepted products (e.g., Linux, Apache, Perl) while following unconventional principles such as the distribution of free source code and massive user participation. Those achievements have initiated and supported many declarations about the potential ofthe open source model to accelerate the development of reliable software. However, the pronouncements in favor or against this model have been usually argumentative, lacking ofempirical evidence to support either position. Our work uses a survey to overcome those limitations. The study explores how software quality assurance is performed under the open source model, how it differs from more traditional software development models, and whether some of those differences could translate into practical advantages given the right circumstances. The findings indicate that open source has certainly introduced a new dimension in large-scale distributed software development. However, we also discovered that the potential of open source might not be exploitable under all scenarios. Furthermore, we found that many of the open source quality assurance activities are still evolving

Generating XML Schemas for DICOM Structured Reporting Templates

In this paper, the authors describe a methodology to transform programmatically structured reporting (SR) templates defined by the Digital Imaging and Communications for Medicine (DICOM) standard into an XML schema representation. Such schemas can be used in the creation and validation of XML-encoded SR documents that use templates. Templates are a means to put additional constraints on an SR document to promote common formats for specific reporting applications or domains. As the use of templates becomes more widespread in the production of SR documents, it is important to ensure validity of such documents. The work described in this paper is an extension of the authors' previous work on XML schema representation for DICOM SR. Therefore, this paper inherits and partially modifies the structure defined in the earlier work