HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: musriah@rangkom.MY (Musriah Waris)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng,comp.lang.c++,comp.std.c++,news.software.anu,comp.groupware,alt.models,comp.object
Subject: CASE tool for object oriented design and programming
Keywords: CASE tool
Date: 12 Aug 92 04:01:06 GMT
Organization: MIMOS, Malaysia


  I need information about CASE tool that uses Object Oriented
methodology which focuses on Planning, Analysis and design phases.  
  I would like to share your experience in using OBJECT PLUS (by EASYSPEC
INC) and OOD (by Grady Booch) or any other object oriented CASE tool if
you have any.

  Please send your responses via e-mail because we don't get current
news on line.  My address is musriah@rangkom.ism.my
  Thank you. 
 
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
From: lehman@george.arc.nasa.gov (John Lehman -- GDP)
Subject: Re: Terms [Was: What is Software Engineering]
Summary: What are we?
Keywords: "software technicians"
Organization: RIACS, NASA Ames Research Center
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 92 16:55:08 GMT


[an excerpt:]

 >> 
 >> In the rest of the technical world, scientists try to figure out why the
 >> latest thing the engineers built works, engineers build products, and
 >> technicians handle the scut work.
 >> 
 >> The label programmer covers all three quite well.
 >> 


___"software technician"___ would be a good term to describe
most jobs in the software industry; such as a job where
one does a lot of miscellaneous things that aren't
really "programming", "engineering", nor "science".

What would we call someone who spends excessive time
reading newsgroups?  "software airhead"?  I'm kidding,
but actually, thanks Chris, your entire message is
right on, except I'm not so sure about calling everyone
a programmer.

lehman@ames.arc.nasa.gov
Xref: sparky comp.software-eng:3262 comp.compilers:1417
From: Dag.H.Wanvik@kvatro.no (Dag H. Wanvik)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng,comp.compilers
Subject: Wanted: Concurrent debugger bibliography
Keywords: parallel, debug, question
Date: 20 Aug 92 01:04:59 GMT
Reply-To: Dag.H.Wanvik@kvatro.no (Dag H. Wanvik)
Organization: Kvatro A/S, Trondheim, Norway

Hi!

I am trying to read up on debuggers for concurrent languages and/or
distributed and/or multithread and/or host/target applications.

I'd appreciate any leads :-)

Relevant single references are also of interest (books etc.)

Please give any response by e-mail and I'll summarize if there is interest.

Regards,

Dag

--
Dag H. Wanvik  ,   Senior Systems Engineer
Mailing address:   KVATRO AS, Pirsenteret, N-7005 Trondheim, NORWAY
Telephone      :   +47 7 520090
Fax            :   +47 7 520140
Internet e-mail:   wanvik@kvatro.no OR dag@kvatro.no
-- 
Send compilers articles to compilers@iecc.cambridge.ma.us or
{ima | spdcc | world}!iecc!compilers.  Meta-mail to compilers-request.
From: jerry@austin.ibm.com (Jerry Heyman)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: What is Software Engineering
Date: 12 Aug 92 15:04:12 GMT
Reply-To: jerry@austin.ibm.com
Organization: IBM AWD Austin, TX
Originator: jerry@heyman.austin.ibm.com


In article <1992Aug12.014403.9892@m.cs.uiuc.edu>, marick@m.cs.uiuc.edu (Brian Marick) writes:
> schmid@ide.com (Stephen Schmid) writes:
> 
> >As a carpenter is to an architect,
> >so is a programmer to a software engineer.
> 
> A dangerous analogy to make to the son of a carpenter, who spent much
> of his childhood listening to his father fume about unlivable,
> unimplementable designs.  Some of the things he had to talk people out
> of were so stupid even I saw it, but some were rather subtle.

In several of the places that I've worked, there was a clear delineation
between those doing software 'architecting/designing' (engineering?) and 
those doing the actual implementation (programmers).  On many occassions 
there were large holes in the architecture (big enough to drive a truck
through).  In other cases, even when implemented as designed,  the function
failed for very subtle reasons (following a code path not anticipated).

With these kind of problems, I would suggest that the analogy from Stephen
Schmid is more correct than not.

> 
> Brian Marick, marick@cs.uiuc.edu, uiucdcs!marick, marick@testing.com (pending)

jerry
-- 
Jerry Heyman                         e-mail   : jerry@austin.ibm.com
IBM AWD AIX Dev Env Tools MS 9631    "Software is the difference between
Austin, TX  78758                        hardware and reality"
*** All opinions expressed are exactly that - my opinions and NOT IBM's
From: elphorsc@nuscc.nus.sg (Hor Shoon Chan (Mr))
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: What is Software Engineering
Date: 21 Aug 92 01:57:42 GMT
Organization: National University of Singapore

brothers@mdd.comm.mot.com (Joseph Brothers) writes:
: Various netpersons wrote:
: >>MECHANICAL ENGINEERING          SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
: >>______________________          ____________________
: >>   1. Safety                       1. Delivery date
: >>   2. Quality                      2. Cost
: >>   3. Cost                         3. Use latest "whiz-bang" technique (OO)
: >>   4. Delivery date                 ...
: >>                                   n. Quality
: >>
: >Here at my company the list is this:
: >
: >SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
: >--------------------
: >1. Delivery Date
: >2. Delivery Date
: >3. Delivery Date
: >4. Cost
: 
: It took me a while to notice that the one item missing from all these lists is
: 
: 					Effectiveness.
: 
: My dictionary defines engineering as "applying scientific knowledge to practical ends".
: (stuff deleted) 
: -- 
: 			Joseph L. Brothers			
: brothers@mdd.comm.mot.com		uunet!mdisea!brothers	         
: 	"I am speaking solely for my self, not my employer."

Another big element missing from the list, which could be classified as
a component of Quality, is USABILITY.  Generally, software development
is about designing, developing,and implementing systems or tools for
people to use. So what if it is the latest technology and so what if you
deliver the system on time.  If a tool or product is not usable or
difficult to learn and use then we have failed as software engineers.

SC Hor -- Standard Disclaimer
"You will never know until you test it"
From: achamill@kirkusafa.af.mil (Tim Chamillard)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: PhD in Software Testing
Keywords: Testing, PhD
Date: 21 Aug 92 19:23:47 GMT
Organization: USAF Academy, CO

I've just been told I'll be going to school next fall to pursue my PhD.  Does anyone know which schools have
researchers/curriculums in the software testing area?  My two constraints are that the school should cost around
$5500 a year, and I have to be able to finish my PhD in 3 years.  Please reply to me directly at 
achamill@kirk.usafa.af.mil.  Thanks.
From: lehman@george.arc.nasa.gov (John Lehman -- GDP)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Terms [Was: What is Software Engineering]
Keywords: programmer, engineer
Date: 13 Aug 92 00:47:16 GMT
Organization: RIACS, NASA Ames Research Center

[editted:]
>              ... should we ask that a Civil Engineer, when asked what s/he
>does for a living reply: "I design roads/bridges/sewer systems"?  I think 
>that the term 'Software Engineer' is no more improper than 'Civil Engineer'.

I wondered what civil engineers do.  So it isn't the above ...

>> . . . 
>>
>> "Software Staff Person" or "Software Staff"
>>
>> which would cover an occupation including
>> writing purchase requests for software license
>> renewals, occasional debugging or consulting,
...
>
>... the expresion 'I design X' is not a complete description of the job.
>The job of engineering involves a lot of administration, evaluation, 
>documentation etc.
>
>As I've said, engineering, as a profession, involves a great deal more than 
>designing.  

I take, as your point, that there is no simple definition
of "engineer".  

We all know approximately what a software engineer is, and 
maybe we should let it go at that.  However I'm not satisfied
with such a term which covers so many activities.  That's 
why I keep trying to simplify the definition.

Is it feasible for a practicing software engineer to write
down what s/he does so that a group of people who are not software
engineers could learn to fill in when the software engineer
takes a year-long sabbatical leave (or goes away forever)?

Can anyone offer a system of categories describing what
software engineers do, in simple terms?

How should a person, who is not a sw eng., but is considering
hiring one, determine whether the person calling him/herself
a sw eng. really is one?  The hirer would probably resort to
consulting a list of what activities are really needed for the
job at hand; and the phrase "software engineer" (to my way of
thinking) would not be useful terminology; on the other hand,
one sees "software engineering" listings in the want ads,
and unfortunately we don't (yet) have any phrase that brief
which describes the position.

I was about to say, if a person calls him/herself a software
engineer, it is so hard to disprove them, that the title always
stands.  But that's not quite true; it just takes a software
engineer to know one.  I don't yet see any consensus on a
better terminology.

There was (/is) a somewhat similar situation with the phrase
"system programmer".  A long time ago I worked with some people 
who called themselves that; but there was such a great difference
in what they could do that they certainly should not all be called
by the same title.  It takes one to know one; except I found out
who was real and who wasn't by hearing them talk (over a long
period of time, after all of them were already hired).

lehman@ames.arc.nasa.gov
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
From: ar559@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Jan Buitenhuis)
Subject: Software Publisher Sought.
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, (USA)
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 92 15:56:24 GMT


I am looking for a software publisher potentially interested in
publishing a software development tool for Windows.

Thanks, Jan
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
From: wiley@cactus.org (Mark S. Wiley)
Subject: Re: Testing Parallel Components
Organization: Capital Area Central Texas UNIX Society, Austin, Tx
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1992 21:39:02 GMT

In article <1992Aug21.160553.22273@evb.com> brandon@evb.com (Brandon) writes:
>I'm curious to hear what people are doing to test parallel software
>components.  Any information would be appreviated.  
>	Brandon Goldfedder (brandon@evb.com)
>

It depends on what type of parallel software you are testing.  When I
was testing Sequent's symmetric multiprocessor OS (Dynix/ptx) I wrote a
parallel test driver to run 100's to 1,000's of test processes in
parallel.  This tends (-: to put it mildly :-) to stress the operating
system and expose previously unknown race conditions in the OS.

Since you can use standard functional tests running in parallel, the
investment (writing the parallel test driver) is relativly small compared
to the amount of insight you gain into how your OS runs in a stressful
environment.


-- 
Mark S. Wiley
mark.wiley@cactus.org
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
From: rene@cadence.com (Rene Churchill; x6266)
Subject: BWE from Brown U.
Organization: Cadence Design Systems/CAE Div, Lowell MA
Distribution: comp
Date: Fri, 7 Aug 1992 06:08:56 GMT


I recently saw a brief blurb in an article recently about a tool
called BWE from Brown University.  The blurb implied that it
maintained Config. Management states and a state machine for linking
various code changes together.  i.e. version 17 of foo.c requires
version 7 of foo.h to compile properly.

Does anybody out there in NetLand have any better pointers they could
give me towards locating this tool?

Thanks in advance,

    Rene
--
 Rene' Churchill                     rene@cadence.com
 Cadence Design Systems
 2 Lowell Research Center Drive      Experience is something you get
 Lowell, Mass. 01852-4995            just after you really needed it.
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
From: song@siam.ics.uci.edu (Xiping Song)
Subject: Re: Do you use SADT ?
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Reply-To: song@ics.uci.edu (Xiping Song)
Organization: Univ. of Calif., Irvine, Info. & Computer Sci. Dept.
Keywords: SADT
Date: 14 Aug 92 05:47:03 GMT

In article <1992Aug14.032041.16032@m.cs.uiuc.edu> johnson@m.cs.uiuc.edu (Ralph Johnson) writes:
>A decade or so ago I spent several months trying to figure out SADT,
>and decided that the documents that were supposed to describe it didn't.
>Where does one go to learn it?  Also, if it is so wonderful, why don't
>more people use it?
>
Because it is not a public-domain technique like Yourdon. Paul Ward
described this in his article in American Progammer--Evolution of
Structured Design.

--Song
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
From: gerald@phx.mcd.mot.com (Gerald Sprague)
Subject: Interesting quote
Organization: Motorola Computer Group, Tempe, Az.
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1992 13:57:53 GMT

Interesting quote from the 3 August 92 issue of _Open_Systems_Today_, Page 57.

     "In this industry, we announce a product, then we show it, we sell it,
     we deliver it, try to support it, then we try to make it work."

     Then he quickly added:  "That is not how _our_ company operates, of
     course."

                                        Erwin Morton
                                        founder of Syntactics
                                        to Mike Azzara
-- 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gerald Sprague, Jr.  (misfit!gerald)    |   Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
MCG - CIM Staff      (gerald@phx.mcd.mot.com)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Design Methodologies Talk
From: rrmill@skcla.monsanto.com
Date: 13 Aug 92 08:15:53 GMT
Organization: Searle, Skokie, IL
Nntp-Posting-User: rrmill


I'd like the names of some GOOD books and/or articles on software
design methodologies.  I recently went to a 4 day seminar on the
topic and would like to give a talk on it, but need more info.
From: hayes%valkris@hac2arpa.hac.com (Brian Hayes 74-35 x65129)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Wanted: CDIF Info (CASE Data Interchange Format)
Keywords: CDIF Teamwork EDIF
Date: 13 Aug 92 17:13:01 GMT
Organization: Hughes Aircraft Company, EDSG
Originator: hayes@valkris

Does any one have some information on CDIF (CASE Data Interchange Format
based on EDIF)?  I am particularly interested in the Specification 
for CDIF; but info describing and showing examples would be okay too.

I have references to EDIF in the back of a Teamwork manual; but, I am
more interested in CDIF.  Are there any on-line sources?

Thanks in advance.

Brian Hayes
hayes@hac2arpa.hac.com (if r)eply doesn't work)
(310) 616-5129


-- 
| Brian Hayes		| "One person's requirement is another	|
| (310) 616-5129	|  person's design." - I.A.Pirbahi	|
| hayes@hac2arpa.hac.com| <standard disclaimer here>		|
From: rds@goanna.cs.rmit.oz.au (Rowan D. Stevens)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: e-mail addresses required
Date: 22 Aug 92 04:43:54 GMT
Organization: Comp Sci, RMIT, Melbourne, Australia

Does anyone out there have e-mail addresses for the following authors?

	Janis A. Bubenko jr.
	University of Stockholm, Sweden.
and
	Sjaak Brinkkemper who completed a PhD titled "Formalisation of
	Information Systems Modelling" at the Catholic University of
	Nijmegen, Nijmegen (The Netherlands) back in 1990.

Any help much appreciated.

Cheers

--
Rowan Stevens {e-mail: rds@goanna.cs.rmit.oz.au}.  RMIT, Department of Computer
Science.  GPO BOX 2476V Melbourne VIC 3001. Australia.  Phone: +61-3-660-3216.
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
From: chrism@col.hp.com (Chris Magnuson)
Subject: BOOKS FOR SALE!!
Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1992 16:46:45 GMT
Organization: HP Colorado Springs Division


   What follows is a list of more books for sale.  Terms are the same as before,
shipping is $4 additional, books are hardcover (unless noted), etc.  Best
offer, etc.

   Topics include electronics, DSP (digital signal processing), software
engineering, computer languages and data structures, and realtime
programming.

Chris Magnuson
chrism@col.hp.com
Software Engineer
Hewlett-Packard


*************************
Digital Signal Processing
*************************

  Theory and Application of Digital Signal Processing, Rabiner and Gold, ISBN
0-13-914101-4, 762 pages, $20.


******************
Software/Languages
******************

  A Book on C, Kelley and Pohl, ISBN 0-8053-6860-4, 362 pages, $8 (softcover).
  "Good beginning-intermediate C programming text."

  Compiler Design in C, Holub, ISBN 0-13-155045-4, 924 pages, $30.
  "Good implementation book on compiler writing and theory."

  Data Structures Using Pascal, Tenenbaum and Augenstein, Second Edition, 
ISBN 0-13-196668-5, 774 pages, $20.
  "The most used book on dta structures at the university level."

  Structured Design, Yourdon and Constantine, ISBN 0-13-854421-9, 473 pages,
$15.
  "The classic software design text."

  An Implementation Guide to Real-Time Programming, Ripps, ISBN 0-13-451873-X,
262 pages, $15.
  "Just like it says...implementation-oriented realtime book."

  Software Engineering: A Practitioner's Approach, Second Edition, Pressman,
   ISBN 0-07-050783-X, 567 pages, $13.
  "I hate to part with this one...McCabe/Halstead/metrics, data flow and
   design...just about everything you can think of including object-oriented
   design."

***********
Electronics
***********

  Circuit Theory Fundamentals and Applications, Budak, ISBN 0-13-133975-3,
590 pages, $10.
  "The best book there is for learning circuit theory from."

  Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary of Electronics, Douglas-Young, ISBN
0-13-450791-6, 606 pages, $10.
  " Good reference."

  Basic Electronics, Grob, Third Edition, ISBN 07-024917-2, 763 pages, $5.
  "Has a variety of topics, including tubes!"

  Electronic Devices and Circuits: Discrete and Integrated, Ghausi, ISBN
0-03-062481-9, 808 pages, $10.
  "Hot book on designing electronic circuits, from diodes through
   op-amps."

  Micro-Electronic Circuits, Sedra and Smith, ISBN 0-03-056729-7, 927 pages,
$15.
  "Another hot book...diodes, op-amps, FETs, transistors, etc."
  
  Analog-Digital Conversion Handbook, Third Edition, Sheingold, Ed., ISBN
  0-13-032848-0, 670+ pages, $10.
  "Want to know how analog-digital and digital-analog conversion works?"

  Microprocessor Architecture, Programming, and Applications, Gaonkar,
ISBN 0675-201594-05, 655+ pages, $10.
  "Designing with microprocessors is very 90's-ish."

  Analysis and Design of Analog Integrated Circuits , Second Edition, Gray
   and Meyer, ISBN 0-471-87493-0, 771 pages, $15.
  "Transistors, diff amps, op-amp stages, FETs..."

Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
From: adams@pooh.sdd.trw.com (allen Adams)
Subject: Re: What is Software Engineering
Organization: TRW Inc., Redondo Beach, CA
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 92 21:36:45 GMT

travis@eecs.nwu.edu (Travis Marlatte) writes:

>What's the point of this discussion? Are we really trying to nail down
>the definition of "software engineering" or just get a better feel
>for what it is we are supposed to be doing?

I think the answer to the second question is 'Yes and Yes'.  When
people get together to discuss 'what it is they do', describing
what a 'software engineer' does can be both hard to define and defend
as a worthwhile thing to do.

>It seems that if someone were able to prove that a software engineer
>is a person who spent 15% of his day on the beach, everyone in this
>discusion with "Software Engineer" on their business card would get
>their bathing suit out.

I personally go for walks after work along The Strand here in 
Manhattan and Hermosa beaches, so maybe I qualify :) .

>I think that part of the problem is that the duties assigned to a 
>software person tend to cover the entire life-cycle so it is hard to
>create a more specific title.

Very good point.  I think that is the root of the problem in coming
up with definitions.

>Let's get back to discussing how we get the job down, not what we call
>it.

I would encourage just the opposite.  It is good every once in a while
to stop and look around to see what is going on, what is influencing software
engineers, etc.  I would discourage personal attacks about people's beliefs
about software engineering, but to discuss the whats, whys, and wheres of
the positive/negative beliefs that software engineers have run into, helps
put things into perspective now and then.

Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
From: king@rtsg.mot.com (Steven King, Software Archaeologist)
Subject: Need references on moving old code to new platform
Reply-To: king@rtsg.mot.com
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1992 00:58:50 GMT

Does anyone know of any references which discuss moving old code from
one hardware platform to another?  I'm not looking for books on how to
write portable code; those are a dime a dozen.  I'm looking for
something which discusses moving a large existing body of poorly
written and documented code to a completely new platform.  The points
I'm interested in are:

  - Conversion of languages (ie., upgrading COBOL or assembler into
      C, Ada, etc.)
  - Recovering and documenting undocumented design
  - Where's the break-even point for converting existing code versus
      re-writing things from scratch?

I've got my own feelings on the subject, but I'd like to see what others
have done and learned in the process.

-- 
-------------------------------------------------------+-----------------------
Never let anyone know you're good at something you     |      Steven King
dislike.  You'll find yourself doing it forever.       |   Motorola Cellular
                                                       |   king@rtsg.mot.com
From: jfoster@everest.srd.bt.co.uk (John Foster)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Need references on moving old code to new platform
Date: 19 Aug 92 10:39:01 GMT
Reply-To: jfoster@srd.bt.co.uk
Organization: British Telecom

From article <1992Aug15.005850.14463@rtsg.mot.com>, by king@rtsg.mot.com (Steven King, Software Archaeologist):
> Does anyone know of any references which discuss moving old code from
> one hardware platform to another?  I'm not looking for books on how to
> write portable code; those are a dime a dozen.  I'm looking for
> something which discusses moving a large existing body of poorly
> written and documented code to a completely new platform.

A very good place to start might be:
Harry M. Sneed. "Bank Application Reengineering & Conversion at the
Union Bank of Switzerland". In Proc. IEEE Conf. Software Maintenance,
Sorrento, Italy, Oct 15-17, 1991, pp 60-72.

Harry specialises in this sort of project, and this case study is unusual in
that the customer has been very cooperative in allowing the details to
be written up. Other articles have been published on the same project:
see references in the above paper.

Hope it helps
	John Foster


--
John Foster
Systems Research Division, BT Labs, Martlesham Heath, Ipswich IP5 7RE, UK
jfoster@srd.bt.co.uk        fax: (+44) 473 643019
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng