This paper summarizes the current state of the art and recent trends in software engineering economics. It provides an overview of economic analysis techniques and their applicability to software engineering and management. It surveys the field of software cost estimation, including the major estimation techniques available, the state of the art in algorithmic cost models, and the outstanding research issues in software cost estimation.

Software engineering economics

The recommendations of the 1972 and 1973 ACM Curriculum Committee on Information Systems programs have been influential in the development of degree programs at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels The earlier curriculum has been revised and updated based on advances in the field over the past nine years The report discusses the continuing need for education related to the definition, analysis, design, construction, and management of information systems in organizations The structure of both bachelor's and master's level programs are described and courses are defined Course outlines include rationale for the courase, course objectives, instructional modes, and a list of topics Each topic is weighted in terms of suggested percent of time devoted to the subject

Information systems curriculum recommendations for the 80s: undergraduate and graduate programs

Path finding is a key process in many areas of computation. Optimization problems and heuristic search problems are two notable examples. The first part of this dissertation presents a class of algorithms, denoted VGA, for solving the two point shortest path problem in directed graphs with non-negative edge weights. This class is a bi-directional extension of the most efficient known uni-directional shortest path algorithms. While it has long been realized that hi-directional algorithms often provide computational savings, a theory of this has not been forthcoming until now. This theory shows how a hi-directional method using the proposed cardinal@ comparison strategy is a priori the best shortest path algorithm within the class of algorithms VGA. These theoretical results are verified by extensive tests of VGA. A computer program was written where several standard uni-directional and bi-directional strategies were compared with cardinality comparison. The program randomly generated a number of large directed graphs and each strategy in turn was tried on numerous path problems within these graphs. In heuristic search for artificial intelligence problems, algorithms similar to the two point shortest path problem are used. The spaces searched are enormous , often infinite, and in consequence the constraint on finding the shortest path is abandoned. The concern is for finding any solution path with minimum effort. The second part of the dissertation presents a theory of these problems and some experiments with the fifteen puzzle in using the methods suggested by this theory of heuristic search. The evaluation function directing the search is the sum of the distance from the starting node and an estimate of the distance to the goal. This second component is the heuristic term, and if accurate, allows efficient path finding in-iii-large spaces. Some results on the effect of error in the heuristic term are presented. Especially interesting is theorem '7.9, showing that the distance from the start should be incorporated in the evaluation function. This particular result runs counter to the reliance strictly on the heuristic term, a practice which is widespread. Bi-directional heuristic search is also proposed. VGHA, a bi-directional class of algorithms, is an extension of the Hart, Nilsson, and Raphael uni-directional heuristic search algorithms. Their results are extended to this more general class. These methods are used in solving fifteen puzzle problems and comparing the number of nodes explored. It is a continuance of the empirical work started by Doran and Michie with the …

Bi-directional and heuristic search in path problems

This report proposes developing a rigorous undergraduate curriculum for a B.A.-degree program in computer science. The curriculum is intended as a model not only for high-quality undergraduate colleges and universities, but also for larger universities with strong computer science programs in a liberal arts setting.

A model curriculum for a liberal arts degree in computer science

As space mission software becomes more complex, the ability to effectively deal with faults is increasingly important The strategies that can be employed for fighting a software bug depend on its fault type Bohrbugs are easily isolated and removed during software testing Mandelbugs appear to behave chaotically While it is more difficult to detect these faults during testing, it may not be necessary to correct them; a simple retry after a failure occurrence may work Aging-related bugs, a sub-class of Mandelbugs, can cause an increasing failure rate For these faults, proactive techniques may prevent future failures In this paper, we analyze the faults discovered in the on-board software for 18 JPL/NASA space missions We present the proportions of the various fault types and study how they have evolved over time Moreover, we examine whether or not the fault type and attributes such as the failure effect are independent

https://grottke.de/documents/anempiricalinvestigationoffaulttypes.pdf

An empirical investigation of fault types in space mission system software

The ACM Committee on Curriculum in Computer Science has spent two years investigating master's degree programs in Computer Science. This report contains the conclusions of that effort. Recommendations are made concerning the form, entrance requirements, possible courses, staffing levels, intent, library resources, and computing resources required for an academic, professional, or specialized master's degree. These recommendations specify minimum requirements which should be met by any master's programs. The Committee believes that the details of a particular master's program should be determined and continually updated by the faculty involved. A single or a small number of model programs are not as appropriate at the graduate level as at the bachelor's level.

Recommendations for master's level programs in computer science: a report of the ACM curriculum committee on computer science

A curriculum that is flexible enough to suit all students studying computer science, and that reintegrates the theoretical aspects of the field along with more practical or vocational aspects, is proposed.

A mathematically focused curriculum for computer science

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the specification and implementation of abstract data types (ADT). A data structure is to be identified with the operations that are applicable to it, and the only way to generate an instance of the data structure is by means of a sequence of applications of the operations. This is called data abstraction. The chapter deals with the problems associated with data abstraction, including the traversible stack syndrome, functional and procedural programming, and synchronization problems. The chapter distinguishes between the operational approach and the algebraic approach of specifications. Algebraic specifications provide clear descriptions of the computational objects in a self-contained way. An operational specification depends on a representation domain. The chapter discusses modularization, that is, the decomposition of a program into a set of functionally distinct units, and the importance of data types with respect to program correctness, and why data types should be defined in terms of operations.

Specification and Implementation of Abstract Data Types

A survey of the literature shows that eleven binary tree traversals have been defined. We systematize this work by proposing a classification that consists of twenty-six traversals grouped into seven categories. Three generator schemas are provided that allow all of the traversals to be implemented.

Alfs Berztiss

Papers

Recommendations for master's level programs in computer science: a report of the ACM curriculum committee on computer science

A mathematically focused curriculum for computer science

Specification and Implementation of Abstract Data Types

A taxonomy of binary tree traversals

Data Abstraction in the Specification of Information Systems.