HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: rss@gooey.eng-sun (Rich Scire)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: CASE tool vendors postal addresses
Date: 28 Sep 92 15:17:54 GMT
Article-I.D.: fripp.1992Sep28.151754.4231
Reply-To: rss@gooey.eng-sun
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.

The address for Cadre Technologies is:

Cadre Technologies
222 Richmond St.
Providence, RI
02903

Phone:  (401) 351-5950
FAX: (401) 351-7380

---

Rich Scire   DoD #1341            Cadre Technologies
E-Mail:  rss@cadre.com            222 Richmond St., Providence RI  02903
Phone:  (401) 351-5950            FAX: (401) 351-7380
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
From: nh@cbnewsg.cb.att.com (nicholas.hounsome)
Subject: Re: X-runner
Organization: AT&T
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 08:03:55 GMT

From article <1992Oct5.224401.29918@saifr00.cfsat.honeywell.com>, by dickey@saifr00.cfsat.honeywell.com (Bill Dickey):
> 
> Do anyone know anything of a tool called X-Runner?  I think it is a capture
> and playback testing tool for X-window applications.  Any information anyone
> could provide on how the tools works, support, etc. woulde be appreciated.
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> Bill
> dickey@saifr00.cfsat.honeywell.com

Apparently it is for recording/playback of mouse and keyboard events with 
what sounds like very good synchronization capability.

Mercury Interactive
98 Rue Alberts Calmette
7850 Jouy en Josas
France
tel: +33 1 34 65 72 40

price from $20000

I just read about it in a VERY intersting article on computer aided
software testing (CAST) in "Computing" (24th September) which you 
should read - To summarize it says that although CAST tools are 
often very clever they are almost useless for GUIs unless you have
a stable product and are using them for soak testing or regression testing.
This is mainly because it is impossible for a program to know
what is relevant and what is not in a graphic display and because
differences must be either a list of unintelligible X packets or
massive screen dumps.

Nick Hounsome
From: kambic@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com (Bonus, Iniquus, Celer - Delegitus Duo)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Too many standards
Date: 5 Oct 92 10:51:48 EST

In article <1992Oct2.161426.6074@inesc.pt>, belen@rabbit.inesc.pt (Belen de Vicente) writes:
> Hi!
> 
> I'm a little confused with software engineering standards, there are
> so many: DoD-2167A, ANSI/IEEE, ISO, ...
> 
> I would like to classify them in order to have a clue to decide
> when I should choose one or another!
> Can anyone help me?

Before starting out with the classification, I would presume that you are
dealing with standards relating to sw engineering.  I suspect that the real
question that you are asking is that of any standard.  What will this do for me
that I cannot do if I do not use the standard?  I would recommend that you sit
down and figure out what your mission is before you grab a few standards  and
start classifying them.

> 
> Are there also any european standards being used as much as american ones?
> 
> Which is the rigth way to select an standard when you do not have
> one already imposed?

Please see above.

George Kambic
sd
From: patterso@gmuvax.gmu.edu
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: O-O SRS
Date: 5 Oct 92 23:44:10 -0500
Organization: George Mason University, Fairfax, VA.

REFERENCES NEEDED!!

I am looking for references on the concept of an "object-oriented
software requirements specification" (OOSRS).  I am particularly
interested in the activities that must be accomplished b-e-f-o-r-e
the SRS is written -- to provide elements that are necessary
or desirable to support an object-oriented design.


I will post a follow-up article to summarize responses.  If you know of
such an article, please send information to  patterso@gmuvax.gmu.edu
                                             ^^^^^^^^
                                      (please note spelling)


Thank you!

Newsgroups: comp.software-eng,comp.groupware
From: lamaster@viking.arc.nasa.gov (Hugh LaMaster -- RCS)
Subject: Re: Need software for brainstorming and problem solving.
Keywords: brainstorming
Organization: RIACS, NASA Ames Research Center
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 92 22:41:32 GMT

A package that I read about just today in Government Computer News is:

"Teamate" [sp?] from:
MMB Development Corporation
Manhattan Beach, CA
(310)318-1322

It is supposed to have some groupware features, as well as a
Bulletin Board system.

Has anyone used this product, and, if so, what do they think of it?

It runs on at least SunOS and Sequent; I don't know what other
systems it runs on.

It has been used by the Navy as a status-reporting bulletin-board.


-- 
  Hugh LaMaster, M/S 233-9,     UUCP:      ames!lamaster
  NASA Ames Research Center     Internet:  lamaster@ames.arc.nasa.gov
  Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000  Or:        lamaster@george.arc.nasa.gov 
  Phone:  415/604-1056                     #include <usenet/std_disclaimer.h> 
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
From: marick@m.cs.uiuc.edu (Brian Marick)
Subject: Re: Software Inspections
Organization: University of Illinois, Dept. of Comp. Sci., Urbana, IL
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 15:46:54 GMT


In cs.uiuc.edu:pub/testing/inspect.ps, you'll find a short code
inspection checklist that I use.  For those without postscript, fetch
inspect.n and format with nroff -me.

My approach to inspections is different from Fagan's and others.  I
believe that full-blown inspections are usually not cost-competitive
with testing in the long run, assuming your product will be actively
maintained.  When looking for bugs in code, I use testing whenever
possible and reserve inspections for those bugs that testing is poor
at discovering.  The checklist is therefore narrowly focused, but it
can be used as a supplement to your inspection/code-reading process,
whatever that may be.

The checklist is somewhat specific to C.

The use of inspections and testing before code is available is a
whole 'nother topic.  This checklist has nothing to do with that.


Brian Marick, marick@cs.uiuc.edu, uiucdcs!marick, marick@testing.com (pending)
Testing Foundations:  Consulting, Training, Tools.
Freeware test coverage tool:  see cs.uiuc.edu:pub/testing/GCT.README
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: VAX/VMS C++ telnetable site needed
From: sabarnett@ualr.edu
Date: 6 Oct 92 19:11:23 GMT
Organization: University of Arkansas at Little Rock

I'm need help!   I'm taking a data structures class that uses 
a book written for Pascal coding.    C++ is the language we're coding
in here at the university.  The only problem is that only one lab on campus
has C++ machines and most of the machines that I used in this lab don't
compile very well in most cases.  I will type in a program and it
will compile fine on one machine but it gives errors on another.

The problem stems from the accessibility of the lab.   Most of the time
when I get a chance to get to the lab there is a seminar or something going
on and I have to wait for hours.   

Here's the question I hope someone can answer:  Does anyone know of a 
telnetable site that has a VAX/VMS C++ compiler that I can use remotely?

I use my vax account more than the pc's and the pc's are not reliable.

Please comment as to a solution you see other than purchasing a new computer
for use at home.  I have one (XT) and the HD has just crashed. 

Thanks, Sean



                                     Sean A. Barnett
S-A-B outta here --->                University College / Educational Services
Click!@@                             Macintosh / DEC-VMS-VAX System
NO CARRIER                           Network Manager / Computer Consultant
Remote Connection Closed             (501)-568-8147
                             ////
     ^          _____      /// /// | University of Arkansas at Little Rock
   ^^^^^        |||||     /// ///  | BITNET:   sabarnett@ualr
||||   ||||     |||||    \\\\\\\\\ | INTERNET: in%"SABARNETT@UALR.EDU"
||||   ||||     |||||   |||||||||||| IDSVAX:   seanbt@ids.net
                                   |
    Quit clowning around and       | " The salvation of mankind lies only
          GO DIAMOND!                  in making everything the concern of
                                       all."   -- A. Solzhenitsyn
From: doug_wiebe@next.com (Doug Wiebe)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: *Theory* of configuration management
Date: 6 Oct 92 16:53:42 GMT
Reply-To: doug_wiebe@next.com (Doug Wiebe)
Distribution: comp

I've received a lot of e-mail from people wanting copies of my thesis. I  
don't distribute copies directly, you must get it from the University of  
Washington. You can either send e-mail to "tr-request@cs.washington.edu"  
or send postal mail to:

    Department of Computer Science
    University of Washington
    Seattle, WA 98195
    U.S.A.

Ask for:

    Technical Report 90-07-03
    Generic Software Configuration Management: Theory and Design

There is no fee if you are an academic.

Doug Wiebe
Software Engineering
NeXT Computer, Inc.




In article <5232@rosie.NeXT.COM> I wrote:
> martinc@grover.cs.unc.edu (Charles R. Martin) writes:
> > Has anyone read anything about the theory of configuration management?
> [...]
> I developed a mathematical model of configuration management that is
> based on universal algebra and model theory. Classes and instances of
> software objects are modeled as signatures and algebras, respectively.
> Versions are modeled by total algebras and version families by partial
> algebras, where a family contains a version iff a certain homomorphic
> relationship between the two is satisfied. Families and configurations
> of software systems are defined by generalizing the model for families
> and versions of individual software objects (the latter is a degenerate
> case of the former). Building (i.e., generating new configurations) and
> validation (using constraints to define "valid" configurations) are
> formalized by means of model theory, that is, by using first order
> logic to specify build plans and validation constraints (actually, 
> modulo problems with mutually recursive constraints, logics of order
> > 1 can be used to obtain Adele-like behavior).
> 
> The math is all laid out in gory detail (although I shunted the proofs
> to appendices). There is also a lot of description of "Jason", which
> was an SCM system based on the formal model that I implemented and
> experimented with. I used Jason to specify a Make emulator for example,
> and to emulate Xerox's ReleaseTool. The emulation specs and the perform-
> ance numbers are included in the thesis.
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
From: nrr@sei.cmu.edu (Neal Reizer)
Subject: Re: Z Specification Language -- Does anyone use it?
Organization: The Software Engineering Institute
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1992 20:55:01 GMT


In article <717933199.4476@minster.york.ac.uk>, andyc@minster.york.ac.uk writes:
|> Frank Deutschmann (fhd@panix.com) wrote:
|> : I have been reading a great deal about Z, the formal specification
|> : language recently, and I was curious if anyone out here on the net has
|> : experience with or actively uses Z (or another formal specification
|> : language/system) in real and/or academic projects.
|> : 
|> IBM(UK) has done some work with Z, namely the specification of the
|> interface to CICS [Houston90], and I have heard of other industrial
|> uses of Z (including BP and Praxis), although industrials tend to be a
|> bit cagey about releasing reports into the public domain, so its
|> unlikely you'll see anything describing how useful Z is from a
|> practical viewpoint.  From the academic viewpoint, you could check out
|> the proceedings of the conferences organised by the Z User Group
|> (published by Springer-Verlag), and also the VDM conferences (also
|> published by Springer-Verlag).
|> 
|> [Houston90] Houston, I. and Wordsworth, J., A Z specification of part of
|> the CICS file control API, Doc. No. TR12.272 IBM(UK) Labs Ltd.
|> 
|> : -- 
|> : -frank
|> : (fhd@panix.com)

Two other articles related to the CICS work that are top-level summaries are:

"CICS project report, Experiences and Results from the use of Z in IBM",
Iain Houston and Steve King.

"The use of software engineering, including the Z notation, in the 
development of CICS", C.J. Nix and B.P. Collins.

I'm sorry that I don't have the complete reference, but perhaps an author
search may get you in the right direction.

Neal Reizer


Neal Reizer				nrr@sei.cmu.edu
Research Assistant			(412) 268-2854
Software Engineering Institute
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
From: lamaster@pioneer.arc.nasa.gov (Hugh LaMaster)
Subject: Re: Do Software Engineers Actualy Do So Badly?
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 18:51:40 GMT

In article <20991@plains.NoDak.edu>, kmagel@plains.NoDak.edu (ken magel) writes:
|> 
|>       Many articles here and in the popular press bemoan the "fact" that
|> software engineering does not do anywhere near as well as other more mature
|> forms of engineering in delivering completed products on time and within 
|> budget.  However, I recently was involved in two incidents involving other 
|> forms of engineering which indicate that every form has similar difficulties.

A very good question. I heard on the news last night (so it MUST be TRUE :-)
that the cost of construction the English channel tunnel ("Chunnel") was about
TWICE the original estimate.  I don't know whether the actual overrun was twice,
but it is enough that it is causing a lot of heartburn among the investors.

Now, presumably, heavy construction is dominated by construction costs, 
not design costs, and yet, a project overrun of this magnitude has happened.  
On a project which was intensively scrutized by hundreds of private investors, 
banks, etc.  And which was probably very, very heavily engineered and
no doubt had every project management technique known to humanity applied.
How is this possible?

It is my understanding that even small, routine construction projects include
about a 15% contingency fund on top of the "designed" costs to cover those
unknowns, which may be everything from site/soil problems, to strikes,
to problems with suppliers, etc. etc.

A fair comparison of development projects must consider the cost of the
design phase, including the detailed design, and also unknown costs. 
Software projects are mostly "design", so it would be interesting
to know how accurate estimates of the cost of doing a *design* are in
different disciplines.  For example, how accurately can Boeing estimate
the cost of *designing* a new 7x7?

I think many people have deluded themselves into falsely applying models
that come from manufacturing.  For example, I read a posting in this
newsgroup today that uses the term "software factory".  And yet, there
is no such animal, and never has been.  The proper model for software is
"project", not "factory", and in fact, most of the costs are "project
design-like" costs, not "construction-like" costs.


-- 
  Hugh LaMaster, M/S 233-9,     UUCP:      ames!lamaster
  NASA Ames Research Center     Internet:  lamaster@ames.arc.nasa.gov
  Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000  Or:        lamaster@george.arc.nasa.gov 
  Phone:  415/604-1056                     #include <usenet/std_disclaimer.h> 
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
From: grow@mindvox.phantom.com (George Row)
Subject: Re: Need software for brainstorming and problem solving.
Keywords: brainstorming
Organization: [Phantom Access] / the MindVox system
Date: Sun, 4 Oct 1992 21:58:01 GMT

viviana@igor.tamri.com (Vivian Aldridge) writes:

> 
> Greetings,
> I'm looking for a software package that does two things
> 1) Helps one design new products and services
> 2) Helps plan themes and contents of publications, develop
> articles, stories, and scripts, and prepare speeches.
...
> $700!! I'm looking to spend $70-$200.
> 
> Does anyone use a software package they enjoy?

I have seen a program called IdeaLiner which looked useful.
It runs on a Apple Mac.
It was released as shareware ($30) a long time ago (1987) but 
still seems to run on the recent OS.
Contact WAS:
   Jimmy Mac Software, PO BOX 957, Murfreesboro, Tennessee,37133
but that was in 1987!
Its probably still around on the archives?

George Row                  grow@mindvox.phantom.com  on internet
                            cfyx33@mgvax.ulster.ac.uk on Janet
University of Ulster at Magee College
From: shanks@saifr00.cfsat.honeywell.com (Mark Shanks)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Do Software Engineers Actualy Do So Badly?
Date: 6 Oct 92 19:47:45 GMT
Organization: Honeywell Air Transport Systems Division

In article <20991@plains.NoDak.edu> kmagel@plains.NoDak.edu (ken magel) writes:
>
>      Many articles here and in the popular press bemoan the "fact" that
>software engineering does not do anywhere near as well as other more mature
>forms of engineering in delivering completed products on time and within 
>budget. 

I'm sure most of you have heard the phrase "It's only software" used
as an excuse for a change in the requirements. I am convinced many
large-program managers haven't a clue on the vital importance of
freezing requirements at SOME point or suffer the consequences, i.e.,
overrun schedules and/or blown budgets. As long as the mentality of
"it isn't made of metal or concrete, so it can easily be changed"
persists, and requirements remain fluid and subject to change,
software projects will run late and expensive.

Mark Shanks
From: gjp@sei.cmu.edu (George Pandelios)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: 2nd Call for Participation:  Software Risk
Keywords: Software Technical Risk
Date: 6 Oct 92 16:11:07 GMT
Article-I.D.: sei.1992Oct6.161107.26410
Organization: The Software Engineering Institute



			       CALL FOR PARTICIPATION		

				2nd SEI Conference on
			            Software Risk
				   March 2-4, 1993
				Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

			Considerations for Managers & Practitioners

	        Extended abstracts are due no later than October 31, 1992.

The Second SEI Conference on Issues in Software Risk will be held in
Pittsburgh in March 2-4 of 1993.  The conference brings together software
managers, practitioners, and educators to discuss software technical risk.  
The conference will include plenary sessions, formal invited and contributed
presentations, panel discussions, and informal birds-of-a-feather
meetings.  Vendor exhibits will also be offered.

What is Software Technical Risk?
==============================================

This conference concerns itself with technical risks that threaten successful
software product development.  It is not concerned with the most prevalent
symptoms, cost and schedule overruns, but attempts to deal with underlying
causes and mitigation strategies.  Similarly, the conference does not focus
on safety risks when using systems containing software.  

Participant Information
=======================

Individuals or teams interested in making a 45 minute presentation (including
questions and discussions) must submit a 2000 or 3000 word abstract and a 
brief biography to the general chair, George Pandelios.  Preference will be
given to submissions that demonstrate results of the application of risk
management in software development projects.


Submission Deadlines
====================

Extended abstracts are due no later than October 31, 1992.  Accepted
presenters will be notified by November 13, 1992.


Send abstracts to:

George Pandelios
Software Engineering Institute
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA  15213-3890

Phone:  	(412) 268-7186
Fax:  		(412) 268-5758
Internet:  	gjp@sei.cmu.edu
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
From: roger@wrs.com (Roger Rohrbach)
Subject: Re: *Theory* of configuration management
Organization: Wind River Systems, Inc.
Distribution: comp
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 02:43:35 GMT

martinc@grover.cs.unc.edu (Charles R. Martin) writes:

> Has anyone read anything about the theory of configuration management?


  Check the past several years' proceedings of the following:

    International Workshop on Configuration Management
    ACM SIGSOFT Symposia on Software Development Environments

published by ACM, and

    International Conference on Software Engineering

published by the IEEE.


A lot of related work is done by people trying to provide interactive
programming environments with incremental compilers and other tools that
do semantic analysis; see, for example, the Proceedings of the Symposium
on Partial Evaluation and Semantics-Based Program Manipulation, ACM SIGPLAN
Notices, 26,9 (September 91).

If you want to discuss it, I'm game.  I see CM as a branch of graph theory.

-- 
Roger Rohrbach                                  sun!wrs!roger    roger@wrs.com
- Eddie sez: ----------------------------------------------- (c) 1986, 1992 -.
|   {o >o                                                                     |
|    \<>) "My favorite sounds are 8 seconds long!"                            |
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
From: morris@samson.bnr.ca (Morris Bernstein)
Subject: Re: Info on CenterLine Environment Requested.
Organization: Bell Northern Research Montreal, Canada.
Distribution: na
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 92 16:16:22 GMT

In article <13625@pogo.wv.tek.com> alfredb@pogo.WV.TEK.COM writes:
>In article <1992Sep24.142846.26307@acd4.acd.com>, smm@iedv7.acd.com ( Steve McCoole       ) writes:
>> Our company is looking at the CodeCenter product from CenterLine
...
>It is my understanding that Centerline used to be Sabre, and so CodeCenter is
..
>windows oriented.  I have not used Sabre-C, but I've heard very good things 
>about it.

I have used Saber-C and I am willing to say very good things about it.
It's core is an interpreter for C.  It gives all the features of lint
and dbxtool (xdbx, xups, or any other window-oriented symbolic
debugger) in a warm, friendly enviroment, *plus* it gives a lot of
run-time checking that can't be done with a conventional symbolic
debugger (such as overwriting memory).

It's not perfect (it's biggest problem is that it's a space/time hog),
but it is a *damn* *fine* tool.

They have a tried and true marketing method.  They give free samples
(full production version, with 30-day limitation) and let you get
hooked.  I urge anyone working with C in the UNIX environment to *try*
it.

I haven't tried ObjectCenter (their C++ version) yet, but it works on
the same principle.  Plus it's got a browser for resolving operator
overloading, etc.


Morris
--
Morris Bernstein		 phone:	(514) 765-8275
Bell Northern Research Ltd. 	 fax:	(514) 765-0500
worldnet: bnrmtl!morris@larry.mcrcim.mcgill.edu
"Knowlege is a mind-expanding drug."
Organization: Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Date: Thu,  1 Oct 1992 20:49:14 -0400 
From: Karen Capri Fabrizius <kcf+@CMU.EDU>
Subject: Re: Z Specification Language -- Does anyone use it?
	<1992Oct1.205501.9359@sei.cmu.edu>


nrr@sei.cmu.edu (Neal Reizer) writes:
> Two other articles related to the CICS work that are top-level summaries are:
> 
> "CICS project report, Experiences and Results from the use of Z in IBM",
> Iain Houston and Steve King.
> 
> "The use of software engineering, including the Z notation, in the 
> development of CICS", C.J. Nix and B.P. Collins.
> 
> I'm sorry that I don't have the complete reference, but perhaps an author
> search may get you in the right direction.
> 
> Neal Reizer
> 
> 
> Neal Reizer                             nrr@sei.cmu.edu
> Research Assistant                      (412) 268-2854
> Software Engineering Institute


I just "happen" to have these references:

Iain Houston and Steve King.  "Experiences and results from the use of
Z in IBM"  In VDM '91: Formal Software Development Methods, number 551
in Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pp. 588-595. Springer-Verlag,
October 1991.

and

C.J. Nix and B.P. Collins.  "The use of software engineering,
including the Z notation, in the development of CICS."  Quality
Assurance, 14(3):103-110, September 1988



Karen Fabrizius
kcf@cs.cmu.edu

Newsgroups: comp.software-eng