.Open RJBottings Web Log -- A Long View of Software Development See .See Invitation to Contribute below. . 2009-11-06 Fri Nov 6 11:45 A couple of quick ones The Communications of ACM has a souple of good survey articles in its September issue. The first is a comparison of distributed vs centralized version control systems -- see .See [OSullivan09] in my bibliography. The second is a history and status report on the P=NP problem. See .See [Fortnow09] for citations etc. . 2009-11-05 Thu Nov 5 19:51 A Traditional Formal Method The following paper summarizes a lot of the thinking from the 1970s thru to the 1990s. $Abrial09 points out the role of formality when determining requirements but ignores the common need to discover requirements by implementing software. .Open Abrial09 Jean-Raymond Abrial Faultless Systems: Yes we can IEEE Computer Magazine V42n9(Sep 2009)pp30-36 =ADVERT FORMAL SYSTEMS REQUIREMENTS B Event-B CORRECTNESS MODEL PROOF SIMULATION REFINEMENT PATTERNS MATHEMATICS TOOL Rodin assumes waterfall is necessary. process=requirements; model; code. requirements are a mixture of informal explanations and form definitions and proofs etc. Use coupled discrete state transition systems. And animation. Prove invariants. Need tools to prove thousands of changing propositions. Validate the problem as a system in an environment not just the software. Problem with not enough discrete mathematics in education. Problem with technology transfer. Link .See http://www.event-b.org .Close . 2009-11-05 Thu Nov 5 14:09 Chance of Extra Credit .See ./seminar/20091112BrokenCirclesStudios.txt (November 12th 10-11:50 JB360). . Invitation to Contribute If you disagree with what I write.... click .See ./contribute.html and send me a comment. If you have read something about software development that you think was worth reading you can share it and earn a small piece of fame merely by following this link .See ./contribute.html and filling in the form. I will review and post it if it fits with the goals of this blog: The most practical theories and the most sound practices associated with software development. . Contributors to this site Katie Kline .See http://www.csci.csusb.edu/dick/info4.html Monday October 12th 2009. Jeff Hewitt .See ./samples/people.html#Computer Science Associations Alejandro .See ./maths/blog.html#2009-01-31 Sat Jan 31 09:01 Thank you Alejandro Joanna, Emily Kovak .See ./blog008.html#2008-12-22 Mon Dec 22 09:12 Contributions .See ./maths/blog.html#Sonesh Rawat Etc. . Previous Archived Blog Entries (2009): .See ./blog009.html (Blog to December 2008): .See ./blog008.html (Blog to December 2007): .See ./blog007.html (Blog December 2006): .See ./blog006.html (Blog December 2005): .See ./blog005.html (Blog December 2004): .See http://csci.csusb.edu/dick/blog004.html (Blog December 2003): .See http://csci.csusb.edu/dick/blog003.html (Blog July 2003): .See http://csci.csusb.edu/dick/blog002.html (Blog June 2003 and before): .See http://csci.csusb.edu/dick/blog001.html . Latest .See http://csci.csusb.edu/dick/blog.html . Glossary and Links above::=`using the above statements...`. bibliography::=http://www/dick/newbib.html, (source .See http://www/dick/newbib.mth ) a large collection of publications on software development. a place to search for data on my site. Now recovered from damage done in the latter half of 2003. dick::=`indicates my own opinion in and of a bibliographic item`. given::=`the data and input into a proof, construction or other thinking`. goal::=`the current conclusion, target or unknown of the thinking, construction, or proof`. Haiku::poem="A 19 syllable Japanese poem that captures one moment but implies the universal", All Haiku are supposed to indicate the season of the year and Japanese has many words and phrase that are used for these purposes. Most Haiku also have a caesura (pause) that is counted as a single syllable. Writing Haiku in English is like trying to clap with one hand. languages::=http://www/dick/samples/languages.html, information on computer languages. latest::=http://csci.csusb.edu/dick/blog.html, MATHS::=http://csci.csusb.edu/dick/maths/, a language for semiformal documentation including ontologies, logics, conceptual models, specifications, and algorithms that I also use for weblogs, essays, lecture notes, etc. etc. methods::=http://www/dick/samples/methods.html, links and definitions about software development methods and processes, plus some jokes. Also see .See http://www/dick/samples/methods.glossary.html instead. monograph::=http://www/dick/monograph, a study of software development methods 1940-1990 attempting to show how simple mathematics can avoid common errors. papers::=http://www/dick/papers, pre-publication drafts, local seminars, unpublished essays, etc.. people::=http://www/dick/samples/people.html, prostate::gland=`a walnut sized gland found in human males that has cells that have a tendency to turn cancerous as the male gets older`, see $PSA. .See http://www.healthopedia.com/prostate-cancer/ (not checked for accuracy, includes adverts). PSA::`blood test`=`Prostate Specific Antigen`, the cells in the $prostate generate a particular chemical in the blood and this test measures how much. High values (40+) show rapidly growing cancer. From my experience -- values like 5, 6, and 7 are a cause for concern .. but it all depends on age and whether heart disease or some other problem will get you first. To get a score of zero (undetectable <0.01) the cells must be gone or not growing. samples::=http://www/dick/samples/, samples of documents prepared using $MATHS. se::=http://www/dick/samples/se.html, links to things about software engineering and software development. source::=http://www/dick/blog.mth, I use my own $MATHS language to write these blogs. standards::=http://www/dick/samples/standards.html, STANDARD::=http://www/dick/maths/math_11_STANDARD.html, my personal standard definitions for $MATHS. subjects::=http://www/dick/samples/subjects.html, tools::=http://www/dick/samples/tools.html, vita::=http://www/dick/VITAble.html, .See ./short.vita (plain text). XBNF::=`eXtreme Bachus Naur Form`, a metalanguage based on EBNF that can handle some forms of context dependency in an intuitive way, as part of the $MATHS language. Z::=http://www/dick/samples/z.html, specification language. .Close RJBottings Research Web Log