Browsing by Author "Schach, S R"
Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- ItemOpen AccessAn embedded system artefact organisation and adaptation knowledge management system for embedded system product prototyping(2010) Winberg, Simon L; Schach, S R; Inggs, Michael; Linck, MThis thesis presents an innovative approach to knowledge management (KM) from the perspective of embedded system (ES) development, a form of development that is highly knowledge intensive and depends on specialised forms of knowledge obtained from a variety of complex knowledge artefacts. This study follows an experimental methodology that involves integrating a knowledge management system (KMS) into ES product prototyping projects, in order to facilitate KM of a specific form of knowledge, namely embedded system artefact organisation and adaptation (ESAOA) knowledge. ESAOA knowledge is produced during ESAOA activities, which concern organising artefacts that are used to construct an ES and techniques by which engineers adapt and learn from these artefacts.
- ItemOpen AccessFLOW : a programming environment using diagrams(1984) Dooley, Jeffrey Walter Michael; Schach, S RA graphical language is developed as a generalization of the structured flowcharts proposed by Nessi and Shneiderman. This language can be used in the specification of procedures, procedure interfaces and data structures. A software production support environment is then developed using this language which is capable of producing systems in FORTRAN IV, COBOL and Pascal. The environment integrates new and existing tools and facilitates and encourages the design, coding and testing of well-structured systems using the methodology of stepwise refinement. A central component of the environment is a software production data base which holds the programme source as well as control information pertaining to the state of development of the system and interfaces of the various programme modules being created within the system. A helpful syntax directed editor for the graphical language is used to update the data base. Programme specifications are extracted from the data base by a number post-processors which produce target code for the required high level languages as well as system documentation. Some of the practical experience gained over a three year period is described and suggestions for the extension of the current environment and topics for future research are presented.
- ItemOpen AccessMeasuring the efficiency of software development in a data processing environment(1982) Van der Poel, Klaas Govert; Schach, S RThe development of software for data processing systems has, during the last 25 years, grown into a large industry. Thus the efficiency of the software development process is of major importance. It is indicative of the level of understanding of this activity that no generally accepted measure of the efficiency of software development currently exists. The purpose of this study is to derive such a measure from a set of principles, to determine criteria for the acceptability of this measure, to test it according to the criteria set, and to describe inefficiencies obtained in a number of software projects. The definition of data processing software is based on the concepts of Management Information Systems. Flows, files and processes are identified as the main structural elements of such systems. A model of the software development life cycle describes these elements in detail and identifies the main resources required. A review of the literature shows that lines of code per programmer man-month is commonly proposed as a measure of efficiency of software development, but this measure is generally found to be inaccurate. In defining efficiency as the ratio of the prescribed results of a process divided by the total resources absorbed, a number of desirable properties of a practical measure of efficiency of software development are then put forward. Based on these properties a specific model is proposed which consists of the sum of flows, files and processes, divided by total project costs. Various other models are also considered. Validity and reliability are identified as the most important criteria for the acceptability of the proposed measure. Its reliability is tested in a separate experiment and found to be adequate. A field survey is set up to collect data to test its validity. The survey design chosen is a purposive sample of twenty software development projects. The main result of the survey is that the proposed model of efficiency is found to be valid. Other models investigated are less attractive. Efficiencies achieved in the twenty projects included in the sample are found to differ substantially from one another. Apart from achieving its specific objectives, the study also provides a perspective on some of the problems of software development. Several subjects for related research are identified.
- ItemOpen AccessViaduct : an interactive, very-high-level data manipulation language for a microcomputer-based database system.(1982) Wood, Peter Theodore; Schach, S RA very-high-level data manipulation language for a database system is one in which the user specifies in non-procedural terms the operations that are to be performed on the data stored in the database; the actual method by which the operations are executed does not concern the user. VIADUCT provides such an interface to a microcomputer-based database system known as MDBS. Thus VIADUCT allows a microcomputer user lacking in computer sophistication to interact with, and derive the benefits of, a powerful database management system. Additional security restrictions and integrity constraints usually found only on mainframe database management systems are provided by VIADUCT through the mechanism of a subschema generator.