Library Of Software Components Research Articles

Revisiting Language Support for Generic Programming: When Genericity Is a Core Design Goal

Context: Generic programming, as defined by Stepanov, is a methodology for writing efficient and reusable algorithms by considering only the required properties of their underlying data types and operations. Generic programming has proven to be an effective means of constructing libraries of reusable software components in languages that support it. Generics-related language design choices play a major role in how conducive generic programming is in practice. Inquiry: Several mainstream programming languages (e.g. Java and C++) were first created without generics; features to support generic programming were added later, gradually. Much of the existing literature on supporting generic programming focuses thus on retrofitting generic programming into existing languages and identifying related implementation challenges. Is the programming experience significantly better, or different when programming with a language designed for generic programming without limitations from prior language design choices? Approach: We examine Magnolia, a language designed to embody generic programming. Magnolia is representative of an approach to language design rooted in algebraic specifications. We repeat a well-known experiment, where we put Magnolia's generic programming facilities under scrutiny by implementing a subset of the Boost Graph Library, and reflect on our development experience. Knowledge: We discover that the idioms identified as key features for supporting Stepanov-style generic programming in the previous studies and work on the topic do not tell a full story. We clarify which of them are more of a means to an end, rather than fundamental features for supporting generic programming. Based on the development experience with Magnolia, we identify variadics as an additional key feature for generic programming and point out limitations and challenges of genericity by property. Grounding: Our work uses a well-known framework for evaluating the generic programming facilities of a language from the literature to evaluate the algebraic approach through Magnolia, and we draw comparisons with well-known programming languages. Importance: This work gives a fresh perspective on generic programming, and clarifies what are fundamental language properties and their trade-offs when considering supporting Stepanov-style generic programming. The understanding of how to set the ground for generic programming will inform future language design.

A method for generating a local network graph based on the analysis of address sets

Introduction. The paper deals with the problem of automated construction of a local area network using tools and methods for traffic analysis at the link layer of OSI model. The problem is caused by two factors. These are difficulties of the manual determination of the communication between equipment and the lack of physical access to communication lines of an already functioning network. The purpose of the work is to reduce the time spent on building a local network diagram through automating the process of determining the communication between the equipment.Materials and Methods. To solve the set tasks, a method for determining the relative location of devices is proposed. The network adapters of a specialized software and hardware complex, which are connected to a communication line break at different points of the network, are used in opposite directions. The method used is based on calculations of intersections of address sets received from these adapters. The structural schemes of the construction of such a software and hardware complex and the requirements for it are given. The methods of obtaining MAC addresses from transit packets are described. Examples of libraries of software components for performing this operation are given. The structure of a relational database is proposed for storing the received data. The format and content of the fields of its table are described.Results. Using the developed methods, a typical example of an Ethernet network shows a way to determine the relative location of end devices specified by their MAC addresses, as well as at least two switches located between them. The signs by which it is possible to judge the presence of switching equipment in a particular segment are determined. A method is proposed that enables through using a set of relational operations, to sequentially refine the network topology until the required accuracy is achieved.Discussion and Conclusions. The results obtained can be used under the administration of large local networks with an extensive structure. The proposed approach allows you to reduce the time required for building a scheme. This is possible due to the automation of the process of obtaining information about devices operating on the network and their mutual location.

Retrieval of Java Program Code Components using Case Based Reasoning CBR

Object Oriented Programming (OOP) facilitates to create libraries of reusable software components. The reusability approach in developing a new system can be applied to an existing system with prior modifications. The reusability definitely decreases the time and effort required for developing the new system. To support reusability of program code, a proper code retrieval process is necessary. It makes possible to search the similar code component of java programming environment. OOP paradigm has specific style of writing the program code. The program code is a collection of objects, classes and methods. It is very easy to store the cases and reuse or revise wherever necessary. To get the similarity between the program code components, it is necessary to have an efficient retrieval method. The retrieval phase can retrieve the program code components as classes, methods, and interfaces depending on components selection by the user. A purely case-based approach is adopted for revising or reusing the existing cases to solve the new problems. Case Based Reasoning (CBR) is the process of solving new problems based on the experience coming from similar past problems.

Uniform access to universal data storage

The paper deals with the possibility of application of generic concepts based on the use of multiple programming paradigms with the aim of providing uniform access to universal data storage. The investigation is conducted using the example of developing a library of software components within the framework of the project of creating an expert system using the information base of the Topos Pro software package. The aim of the paper is to check the possibility of forming mechanisms for construction of independent components for access and data processing that would make it possible to produce software products with a low level of coupling and high cohesion. In this case, the concrete implementation would be characterized by conceptual integrity and would provide better understanding of the design process. Storage structures and data access facilities should be associated with what is considered in the article as generic concepts of container class adapters and iterators. This makes it possible to present the program code as a set of elementary independent primitives forming the basis for application logic design in terms of generic abstractions implying the process of extending library components and their adaptation to the domain area. The approach of using multiple programming paradigms coupled with the possibility of extension and setting of newly-created components based on library abstractions provides a new level of understanding programming. The generic concepts in this case become the main tools, while implementations of specific classes on their basis can be set through the use of overloading, aggregation, inheritance and specification of requirements for an abstract data type. After the pre-implementation of some library components and specific classes of access to a universal data model a conclusion can be made that the chosen strategy of interaction with the universal storage based on generic concepts is the best. It makes possible to reduce the complexity level as well as the LOC and allows the developer to concentrate only on the domain logic of applications providing access to the databases supporting the universal data model.

A reconfigurable visual-programming library for real-time closed-loop cellular electrophysiology.

Most of the software platforms for cellular electrophysiology are limited in terms of flexibility, hardware support, ease of use, or re-configuration and adaptation for non-expert users. Moreover, advanced experimental protocols requiring real-time closed-loop operation to investigate excitability, plasticity, dynamics, are largely inaccessible to users without moderate to substantial computer proficiency. Here we present an approach based on MATLAB/Simulink, exploiting the benefits of LEGO-like visual programming and configuration, combined to a small, but easily extendible library of functional software components. We provide and validate several examples, implementing conventional and more sophisticated experimental protocols such as dynamic-clamp or the combined use of intracellular and extracellular methods, involving closed-loop real-time control. The functionality of each of these examples is demonstrated with relevant experiments. These can be used as a starting point to create and support a larger variety of electrophysiological tools and methods, hopefully extending the range of default techniques and protocols currently employed in experimental labs across the world.

Etomica: an object-oriented framework for molecular simulation.

We describe the design of an object-oriented library of software components that are suitable for constructing simulations of systems of interacting particles. The emphasis of the discussion is on the general design of the components and how they interact, and less on details of the programming interface or its implementation. Example code is provided as an aid to understanding object-oriented programming structures and to demonstrate how the framework is applied.

TeiCoPhiLib: A Library of Components for the Domain of Collaborative Philology

In this article we illustrate a work in progress related to the design of a library of software components devoted to editing, processing, and visualizing TEI-annotated documents in the domain of philological studies, in particular in the subdomain of collaborative philology, which concerns the social activity of scholars focused on shared philological tasks. We discuss the technologies related to XML markup languages and the processing of marked-up documents. We describe the method used to design and implement the TeiCoPhiLib, outlining the design patterns as well as discussing general benefits of the overall architecture. Finally, we present case studies in which some components of our library currently implemented in Java have been used.

Research on Multi-Core PC Parallel Computation Based on OpenMP

Along with quad-core PC coming into the market and invention of 80-core processor in the laboratory, Software development will go through a foundational innovation due to multicore technology. The technique of parallel programming on multi-core computers is explored in this thesis. First, the OpenMP standard which is an application programming interface (API) on parallel programming model of shared-memory is introduced and an overview of a set of compiler directives and a library of support functions are given. The OpenMP programs requires an OpenMP-compatible compiler and thread-safe libraries，therefore, both Intel C++ compiler 9.1 and Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 are perfect choices. Then, two-dimensional discrete fast Fourier transform (FFT) is studied by focusing on parallel program design，realization and optimization technology. Finally，the thesis predicts that high performance parallel computing software component library must be a perfect exploitation field in the further future.

A Software Component Library Implemented by Using Faceted Classification Scheme and Component Management Protocol

In order to avoid the shortcoming of faceted classification scheme for being not flexible enough, in this paper, an integrated method which combining the advantages of faceted classification scheme and key value pair method is proposed to represent the logical model of software component. The faceted classification scheme provides a set of summarized optional information for software component to choose. And the key value pair method uses key and value to express the information contained in software component. The information contained in a software component can be divided into four basic facets, namely, the application field, expression method, using environment, development process. And they describe the basic information, using information, and storage information of a software component. The component management protocol based on URL is defined to represent software component, which can be used for storing, transmitting, and analyzing of software component inside of system.

A Number of Issues to Need Focused to Research in Developmental Process of Software Development Method

In the developmental process of software development methods, there are many issues to need to be studied. In these issues, part of the issues is very important for the development of software development method. Such as: about the applicability of software development method, about the flexibility of software development method, about the reliability of the software development method, therefore, these issues need to be focus of study. The case to enhance applicability, flexibility and reliability of the software development method in the past is studied. The way enhancing applicability, flexibility and reliability of the software development method in the future is studied. In order to enhance the applicability of software development method, two ways be proposed. A way is to research and build some of the software development methods, and their scope of application is broad. Another way is to study and build some of the software development methods, and their scope of application is single. In order to enhance the flexibility of software development method, two ways be proposed. A way is to improve existing traditional software development method. Another way is innovation. In order to enhance the reliability of software development method, three ways be proposed. First way is to improve the existing formal method. Second way is to improve the existing theory of software testing. Third way is to strengthen the construction of the software component library.

Implementing Clustering Based Approach for Evaluation of Success of Software Reuse using K-means algorithm

A great deal of research over the past several years has been devoted to the development of methodologies to create reusable software components and component libraries. But the issue of how to find the contribution of the factor towards the successfulness of the reuse program is still in the naïve stage and very less work is done on the modeling of the success of the reuse. The success and failure factors are the key factors that predict the successful reuse of software. An algorithm has been proposed in which the inputs can be given to K-Means Clustering system in form of tuned values of the Data Factors and the developed model shows the high precision results , which describe the success of software reuse.

Integration of Dataflow-Based Heterogeneous Multiprocessor Scheduling Techniques in GNU Radio

As the variety of off-the-shelf processors expands, traditional implementation methods of systems for digital signal processing and communication are no longer adequate to achieve design objectives in a timely manner. There is a necessity for designers to easily track the changes in computing platforms, and apply them efficiently while reusing legacy code and optimized libraries that target specialized features in single processing units. In this context, we propose an integration workflow to schedule and implement Software Defined Radio (SDR) protocols that are developed using the GNU Radio environment on heterogeneous multiprocessor platforms. We show how to utilize Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) units provided in Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) along with vector accelerators implemented in General Purpose Processors (GPPs). We augment a popular SDR framework (i.e, GNU Radio) with a library that seamlessly allows offloading of algorithm kernels mapped to the GPU without changing the original protocol description. Experimental results show how our approach can be used to efficiently explore design spaces for SDR system implementation, and examine the overhead of the integrated backend (software component) library.

On the analysis and design of software for reinforcement learning, with a survey of existing systems

Reinforcement Learning (RL) is a very complex domain and software for RL is correspondingly complex. We analyse the scope, requirements, and potential for RL software, discuss relevant design issues, survey existing software, and make recommendations for designers. We argue that broad and flexible libraries of reusable software components are valuable from a scientific, as well as practical, perspective, as they allow precise control over experimental conditions, encourage comparison of alternative methods, and allow a fuller exploration of the RL domain.

Development of Method for Research in Natural Language of Software Components

A library of software components exerts an important role in corporative level, supporting the documentation, specification, storage and recovery of components. This work considers the storage and the recovery of software components with the use of an interface in natural language. A method to generate a representation form is described, to be stored in the library, for the texts that describe the characteristics of the components that live in the library. The text of the consult generated by the user is also represented the same way in order to allow the comparison between the descriptions of the components of the library and the user question. Additionally the method allowed to determine the similarity between parts of the representations of the text of the characteristics with the text of the consult, returning as resulted the components that better take care of the user question in order decreasing of priority.

Modeling of solid oxide fuel cells for dynamic simulations of integrated systems

Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stacks are at the core of complex and efficient energy conversion systems for distributed power generation. Such systems are currently in various stages of development. These power plants of the future feature complicated configurations, because the fuel cell demands for a complex balance of plant. Moreover, proposed SOFC-based systems for stationary applications are often connected to additional components and subsystems, such as a gasifier with its gas-cleaning section, a gas turbine, and a heat recovery system for thermal cogeneration or additional power production. For the simplest SOFC configurations, and more so for complex integrated systems, the dynamic operation of the power plant is challenging, especially because the fluctuating electrical load of distributed energy systems demand for reliable transient operation. Issues related to dynamic operation must be studied in the early design stage and simulation results can be used to optimize the system configuration, taking into account transient behavior. This paper presents the development and the validation of a non-linear dynamic lumped-parameters model of a SOFC stack suitable for integration into models of complex power plants. Particular emphasis is placed on the systematic approach to model development. The model is implemented using the open-source Modelica language, which allows for a high degree of flexibility and modularity, the main features of the model herein presented. The SOFC stack model will be incorporated into ThermoPower, a freely distributed library of reusable software components for the modeling of thermo-hydraulic processes and power plants.

An Extensible Management Framework for Web Service QoS

Web service is emerging as a promising technology and attracts many attentions from industry and research domains. With the popularity of service technology, many researchers propose that not only functional but also non-functional properties, also known as quality of service (QoS), should be taken into consideration. Researches have intensively explored many QoS related problems, such as QoS-aware dynamic service selection and composition, etc. However, existing approaches emphasize on how to make use of QoS information, the technologies on collecting, storing, measuring Web service QoS information are not intensively explored. It’s obvious that these fundamental technologies are also very important for successfully building QoS related applications. To address this problem, this paper proposes an extensible QoS information management framework, analyzes the technologies included in this framework, and presents the design decisions and solutions in Software Component Library Project of Peking University. Finally, this paper describes a real case study of applying this management framework in a project of 863 Program. The case study shows that users can extend the management framework and manage Web Service QoS according to their domain-specific requirements, which evaluates the extensibility and practicability of this QoS information management framework.

Open-source SCA-based core framework and rapid development tools enable software-defined radio education and research

This article describes the Open Source SCA Implementation::Embedded project, an open source software development kit designed for rapid prototyping of software defined radios consistent with the Software Communications Architecture. The SCA is a product of the American military's SDR acquisition program and has played a large role in SDR development in the military and in the wireless industry. OSSIE was designed for use in wireless communications curricula and research efforts, so it is easy to learn and illustrative of software engineering, programming, and communications engineering concepts important in industrial practice today. OSSIE includes a core framework (i.e., common services enumerated in the SCA). It also includes graphical user interface-oriented tools that are easily learned and free to download and use. The tools auto-generate SCA-specific component source code and supporting files, leaving the developer to provide signal processing functionality. In addition, visualization tools for debugging and a growing library of SDR software components are available. Discussed herein are examples of SDRs designed using OSSIE, including embedded applications. OSSIE enables easy transition from concepts to practice in SDR design for communications engineers who may not have a strong software background.

A multi-agent system to facilitate component-based process modeling and design

Component-based software technology and software interfaces standardization initiatives, such as CAPE–OPEN, have made it possible to model chemical processes and to perform model-based engineering tasks by combining components of process modeling software from different sources, hence providing the potential of exploiting the “best of breed” offered by the CAPE community. In this context, software component libraries, possibly located on a local computer, on the intranet of an organization, or on the Internet, have to be searched to find the most suitable components for a particular engineering task at hand to be integrated into the engineers’ computing environment. This paper proposes to address this issue through a multi-agent software system which facilitates the engineers to find and to integrate software components and aims at reducing the engineers’ effort to the minimum. Within this system, a directory facilitator serves as the “yellow pages” such that an undetermined set of software component libraries located anywhere may be registered with the system. A matchmaker is used to match the specification of a desired software component with the potential candidates in the relevant libraries. The integration of a matching component into the computing environment is handled by an integration manager. A prototype of such a system, called COGents, has been developed employing an existing multi-agent platform. The ontology OntoCAPE defines the chemical engineering and modeling concepts required for specifying desired software components and for characterizing existing ones. OntoCAPE also provides a shared semantic basis for communication between the software agents. Details of the implementation of COGents are presented and the re-usability of the parts of the COGents system is discussed. Three successful demonstrative applications of COGents are reported, each dealing with different types of tasks, specifically flowsheeting, detailed modeling and process design.

ENGLISH

Reusing a previously developed and tested software component is the key to improve the quality and productivity of the software. Searching a software from a software library with an intent to reuse it is similar to searching a book from a library. Locating a book or document in library may not be that difficult as searching a reusable component in a software library. The main challenge in reusing software component lies in the retrieval and selection of the appropriate component that would need no or least adaptation from a software component library. Book can be searched on title, authors or some keywords, but these features are not sufficient for searching the required functionality in a component library. Using formal specifications to represent software components facilitates the determination of reusability of the software component. The functionality of the software, and the welldefined syntax of formal language makes processing amenable to automation. In this paper, a hybrid model based on natural language and formal specifications using K-nn technique has been discussed. Benefits of both formal methods and natural language have been exploited for the retrieval of reusable software components. Existing components have been weighted according to their degree of similarity on the basis of certain attributes to the required component. http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/djlit.27.5.137

Integrating Matlab Neural Networks Toolbox functionality in a fully reusable software component library

In this work, we present a reusable software component library, called IMO.Net Artificial Neural Networks library, which encapsulates the functionality of the Matlab Neural Networks Toolbox (MNNT). The MNNT is a powerful tool to work with neural networks. However, MNNT has not been conceived as a reusable and integrable software piece, and its results are clearly inadequate to be used for development of applications. The component library presented in this paper is fully reusable, allowing the integration of the neural networks toolbox objects and functions in software applications, independently of the platform and tools used to build it. Furthermore, this library provides two different sets of classes to the programmers, one of them presenting an application program interface (API) similar to the Matlab toolbox, and the other a fully object-oriented designed API, which is easier to use and more adequate for object-oriented and rapid application development. This library combines the advantages of being fully reusable and internally employing the MNNT to perform the algorithmic task, consequently inheriting all its power, robustness and comprehensiveness, but without its reusability limitations.