16085618
A TDD approach to introducing students to embedded programming
Learning embedded programming is a highly demanding exercise. The beginner is bombarded with complexity from the start: embedded production based around a myriad of C++ constructs with low-level elements integrated onto ever more complicated processor architectures. The picture is further compounded by tool support having unfamiliar roles and appearances from previous student experiences. This demanding situation often has the student bewildered; seeking for "a crutch" or the simplest way forward regardless of the overall consequences. To control this potentially chaotic picture, the instructor needs to introduce devices to combat this complexity. We argue that test driven development (TDD) should become the instructor's principal weapon in this fight. Reasons for this belief combined with our, and the students', experiences with this novel approach are discussed.
8240301
E-RACE, A Hardware-Assisted Approach to Lockset-Based Data Race Detection for Embedded Products
Limited research exists for identifying data races under the specific characteristics found in embedded systems. E-RACE is a new style of data-race identification tool which directly utilizes specialized hardware capabilities to monitor the flow of data and instructions. Compared to existing data race analysis approaches, the hardware-assisted E-RACE tool has advantages of recognizing data-race issues without requiring extensive software code instrumentation. The tool is integrated into an Embedded Unit Testing Driven Development Framework to encourage the construction of testable code and early identification of data-races.
11798209
A Hardware-Assisted Tool for Fast, Full Code Coverage Analysis
Software reliability can be improved by using code coverage analysis to ensure that all statements are executed at least once during the testing process. When full code coverage information is obtained through software code instrumentation, high runtime performance overheads are incurred. Techniques that perform deferred or selective code instrumentation have shown success in reducing run-time overheads; however, the execution profile remains distorted. Techniques have been proposed that use internal processor hardware during the data gathering process, e.g. program counter logging. These approaches have been shown to reduce overheads; but currently trade swift execution for sparse code coverage. By combining the branch-vector hardware designed for debugging modern embedded processors with on-demand code coverage analysis, we have developed a new tool which provides full code coverage, while minimizing performance distortions. Experimental results show a performance impact of only 8 - 12%, while still providing 100% code coverage information.
8493649
Empirical analysis of the correlation between amount-of-reuse metrics in the C programming language
Disclosed are the magnesium salts of N-carboxyamino acids, a process for their preparation, and their use of lubricating oil additives.
17466351
Aristotle: a system for development of program analysis based tools
Aristotle provides program analysis information, and supports the development of software engineering tools. Aristotle's front end consists of parsers that gather control flow, local dataflow and symbol table information for procedural language programs. We implemented a parser for C by incorporating analysis routines into the GNU C parser; a C++ parser is being implemented using similar techniques. Aristotle tools use the data provided by the parsers to perform a variety of tasks, such as dataflow and control dependence analysis, dataflow testing, graph construction and graph viewing. Most of Aristotle's components function on single procedures and entire programs. Parsers and tools use database handler routines to store information in, and retrieve it from, a central database. A user interface provides interactive menu-driven access to tools, and users can view results textually or graphically. Many tools can also be invoked directly from applications programs, which facilitates the development of new tools. To assist with system development and maintenance, we are also creating support tools for managing bug and test suite databases.
302526
Running the Table: An AI for Computer Billiards
Billiards is a game of both strategy and physical skill. To succeed, a player must be able to select strong shots, and then execute them accurately and consistently. Several robotic billiards players have recently been developed. These systems address the task of executing shots on a physical table, but so far have incorporated little strategic reasoning. They require AI to select the 'best' shot taking into account the accuracy of the robotics, the noise inherent in the domain, the continuous nature of the search space, the difficulty of the shot, and the goal of maximizing the chances of winning. This paper develops and compares several approaches to establishing a strong AI for billiards. The resulting program, PickPocket, won the first international computer billiards competition.
26971713
Architecture Design for Globally Distributed Projects
This paper talks through the practices and infrastructure that was used on the experimental Global Studio Project (GSP). While the architecture activities are highlighted, related practices such as project management, requirements engineering and integration and test in a distributed environment will also be discussed as lessons learned.
17574900
Opening, Closing Worlds - On Integrity Constraints
In many data-centric applications it is desirable to use OWL as an expressive schema language where one expresses constraints that need to be satisfied by the (instance) data. However, some features of OWL’s semantics, specifically the Open World Assumption (OWL) and not having a Unique Name Assumption (UNA), make it hard to use OWL for this task. What would trigger a constraint violation in a closed world system like a relational database leads to new inferences in OWL. In this paper, we explore how OWL can be extended to accommodate integrity constraints and discuss several alternatives for the syntax and semantics of such an extension. We primarily focus on applications in the Supply Chain Management (SCM) domain but we are also gathering use cases and requirements from many other application areas to assess which of these alternatives provides the best solution.
2877433
Mother, May I? OWL-based Policy Management at NASA
Among the challenges of managing NASA’s information systems is the management (that is, creation, coordination, verification, validation, and enforcement) of many different role-based access control policies and mechanisms. This paper describes an actual data federation use case that demonstrates the inefficiencies created by this challenge and presents an approach to reducing these inefficiencies using OWL. The focus is on the representation of XACML policies in DL, but the approach generalizes to other policy languages.