Software process modelling as relationships between tasks

Systematic formulation of software process models is currently a challenging problem in software engineering. We present an approach to define models covering the phases of specification, design, implementation and testing of software systems in the component programming framework, taking into account non-functional aspects of software (efficiency, etc.), automatic reusability of implementations in systems and also prototyping techniques involving both specifications and implementations. Our proposal relies on the identification of a catalogue of tasks that appear during these phases which satisfy some relationships concerning their order of execution. A software process model can be defined as the addition of more relationships over these tasks using a simple, modular process language. We have developed also a formal definition of correctness of a software development with respect to a software process model, based on the formulation of models as graphs.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Using UML for modelling the static part of a software process

We study in this paper the use of UML as a tool for modelling the process of software construction. As a case study, we deal with the process of building a library of software components. UML is used in order to define the static part of the process, i.e., the elements that take part on it and their structural relationships. We think that our approach supports some interesting properties in the field of software process modelling (e.g.: modularity; expressivity in model construction; sound formal basis; and flexibility in model enactment). Besides showing the adequacy of UML for modelling the static part, the paper outlines also some drawbacks concerning the description of the dynamic behaviour of the process using only UML, and some possible solutions to them.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

ComProLab: A component programming laboratory

We present here an approach to component programming which defines languages and tools at both the product and the process levels. At the product level, we allow the use of already existing languages to write functional specifications and implementations of components; also, we provide a notation to state their non-functional specifications, which involve operational attributes as efficiency. Functional specifications can be employed to perform prototyping in a mixed execution framework, which allows the combination of algebraic specifications and imperative code, while non-functional specifications are used to select automatically the best implementation of every component appearing in a software system. At the process level, we have introduced a set of basic program development tasks and we have defined a process language to formulate software process models as particular combinations of these tasks. A process assistant can be used to guide software development following any model defined with this language.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Estructura de Dades i Algorismes

Els objectius fonamentals de l’assignatura són dos: d’una banda, introduir a l’alumne en el paradigma de la programació orientada a objectes com a model de desenvolupament de programes mitjans i grans. D’altra banda, presentar-li les estructures de dades més usuals en memòria. Especialment les que permeten un accés directe per clau a les dades

A structured approach to software process modelling

Systematic formulation of software process models (SPM) is currently a challenging problem in software engineering. We present an approach to define such models that encourages: reuse of both elements and models; modularity and incrementality in model construction; simplicity and naturality of the resulting model; and a high degree of concurrence in their enaction. We focus on model definition, distinguishing as usual its static and dynamic parts. We define the static part by means of formally defined hierarchies introducing the categories of elements that take part in SPM definition. Such hierarchies may be constructed and enlarged according to the requirements of any specific SPM. We present as an example a hierarchy for component programming that takes into account non-functional aspects of software (efficiency, etc.). The dynamic part of the SPM is defined by means of precedence relationships between tasks that take part in the model. These precedence relationships are represented with precedence graphs. Development strategies are defined by encapsulating new precedence relationships in modules, that can be combined and reused.Peer Reviewe

PROMENADE: un lenguaje para la modelización de procesos de software

En este artículo se presenta PROMENADE, un lenguaje para la modelización de procesos de software. PROMENADE utiliza UML para definir sus construcciones, mediante la generación de un profile para este ámbito. PROMENADE ofrece tanto control proactivo como reactivo para expresar el comportamiento dinámico de los procesos; en el caso del control proactivo, se usan relaciones de precedencia de diversa índole para relacionar temporalmente las actividades. PROMENADE proporciona además un marco para la reutilización de procesos de software. En el artículo se compara PROMENADE con otros lenguajes de modelización de procesos de segunda generación.Peer Reviewe

PROMENADE: un lenguaje para la modelización de procesos de software

En este artículo se presenta PROMENADE, un lenguaje para la modelización de procesos de software. PROMENADE utiliza UML para definir sus construcciones, mediante la generación de un profile para este ámbito. PROMENADE ofrece tanto control proactivo como reactivo para expresar el comportamiento dinámico de los procesos; en el caso del control proactivo, se usan relaciones de precedencia de diversa índole para relacionar temporalmente las actividades. PROMENADE proporciona además un marco para la reutilización de procesos de software. En el artículo se compara PROMENADE con otros lenguajes de modelización de procesos de segunda generación.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version