The steady approach of advanced nations toward realization of ubiquitous computing societies has given birth to rapidly growing demands for new-generation distributed computing (DC) applications. Consequently, economic and reliable construction of new-generation DC applications is currently a major issue faced by the software technology research community. What is needed is a new-generation DC software engineering technology which is at least multiple times more effective in constructing new-generation DC applications than the currently practiced technologies are. In particular, this author believes that a new-generation building-block (BB), which is much more advanced than the current-generation DC object that is a small extension of the object model embedded in languages C++, Java, and C#, is needed. Such a BB should enable systematic and economic construction of DC applications that are capable of taking critical actions with 100-microsecond-level or even 10-microsecond-level timing accuracy, fault tolerance, and security enforcement while being easily expandable and taking advantage of all sorts of network connectivity. Some directions considered worth pursuing for finding such BBs are discussed.

Programming the multiprocessor system-on-chip (MPSoC) requires partitioning the sequential reference programs onto multiple processors running in parallel. However, designers still need to partition the code manually due to the lack of automated partition techniques. To settle this issue, this paper proposes a partition exploration algorithm based on the search space smoothing techniques, and implements the proposed method using a commercial extensible processor (Xtensa LX2 processor from Tensilica Inc.). We have verified the feasibility of the algorithm by implementing the MPEG2 benchmark on the Xtensa-based two-processor system. The final experimental results indicate a performance improvement of at least 1.6 compared to the single-processor system.

This paper illustrates a feasible health informatics domain knowledge management process which helps gather useful technology information and reduce many knowledge misunderstandings among engineers who have participated in the IBM mainframe rightsizing project at National Taiwan University (NTU) Hospital. We design an asynchronously sharing mechanism to facilitate the knowledge transfer and our health informatics domain knowledge management process can be used to publish and retrieve documents dynamically. It effectively creates an acceptable discussion environment and even lessens the traditional meeting burden among development engineers. An overall description on the current software development status is presented. Then, the knowledge management implementation of health information systems is proposed.

In this paper, we present an efficient fingerprint classification algorithm which is an essential component in many critical security application systems e.g. systems in the e-government and e-finance domains. Fingerprint identification is one of the most important security requirements in homeland security systems such as personnel screening and anti-money laundering. The problem of fingerprint identification involves searching (matching) the fingerprint of a person against each of the fingerprints of all registered persons. To enhance performance and reliability, a common approach is to reduce the search space by firstly classifying the fingerprints and then performing the search in the respective class. Jain et al. proposed a fingerprint classification algorithm based on a two-stage classifier, which uses a K-nearest neighbor classifier in its first stage. The fingerprint classification algorithm is based on the fingercode representation which is an encoding of fingerprints that has been demonstrated to be an effective fingerprint biometric scheme because of its ability to capture both local and global details in a fingerprint image. We enhance this approach by improving the efficiency of the K-nearest neighbor classifier for fingercode-based fingerprint classification. Our research firstly investigates the various fast search algorithms in vector quantization (VQ) and the potential application in fingerprint classification, and then proposes two efficient algorithms based on the pyramid-based search algorithms in VQ. Experimental results on DB1 of FVC 2004 demonstrate that our algorithms can outperform the full search algorithm and the original pyramid-based search algorithms in terms of computational efficiency without sacrificing accuracy.

The use of a formal method is a promising approach to developing reliable computer programs. This paper presents a formal method for anonymity, which is an important security property of communication protocols with regard to a user's identity. When verifying the anonymity of security protocols, we need to consider the presence of adversaries. To formalize stronger adversaries, we introduce an adversary model for simulation-based anonymity proof. This paper also demonstrates the formal verification of a communication protocol. We employ Crowds, which is an implementation of an anonymous router, and verify its anonymity. After describing Crowds in a formal specification language, we prove its anonymity with a theorem prover.

In this paper, we propose an interactive domain ontology development environment called DODDLE-OWL. DODDLE-OWL refers to existing ontologies and supports the semi-automatic construction of taxonomic and other relationships in domain ontologies from documents. Integrating several modules, DODDLE-OWL is a practical and interactive domain ontology development environment. In order to evaluate the efficiency of DODDLE-OWL, we compared DODDLE-OWL with popular manual-building method. In order to evaluate the scalability of DODDLE-OWL, we constructed a large sized ontology over 34,000 concepts in the field of rocket operation using DODDLE-OWL. Through the above evaluation, we confirmed the efficiency and the scalability of DODDLE-OWL. Currently, DODDLE-OWL is open source software in Java and has 100 and more users from 20 and more countries.

In this paper, we propose a design for testability method for test programs of software-based self-test using test program templates. Software-based self-test using templates has a problem of error masking where some faults detected in a test generation for a module are not detected by the test program synthesized from the test. The proposed method achieves 100% template level fault efficiency, that is, it completely avoids the error masking. Moreover, the proposed method has no performance degradation (adds only observation points) and enables at-speed testing.

In a Cognitive Radio system, it is essential to recognize and avoid sources of interference signals. This paper describes a study on a location sensing scheme for interference signals, which utilizes multi-beam phased array antenna for cognitive wireless networks. This paper also elucidates its estimation accuracy of the interference location for the radio communication link using an OFDM signal such as WiMAX. Furthermore, we use the frequency spectrum of the received OFDM interference signal, to create a method that can estimate the propagation status. This spectrum can be monitored by using a software defined radio receiver.

Implementation of RFID reader/writer on software defined radio is studied in this paper. The target RFID is ISO18000-3 mode 2 which has 8 reply channels for simultaneous communication with 8 different RFID tags. In the software defined radio architecture, the 8 reply channels are sampled at a single A/D converter and separated by digital down converters, whereas conventional RFID architecture has redundant 8 parallel analog down converters. A novel multi-stage transmultiplexing digital down converter is proposed for efficient implementation of multi-channel digital down converter. Moreover the proposed architecture is implemented on a FPGA evaluation board, and validity of the system is confirmed on a real hardware. The proposed architecture can be applied to multi-channel receiver for dynamic spectrum system in the cognitive radio.

Software rejuvenation is a preventive and proactive solution that is particularly useful for counteracting the phenomenon of software aging. In this article, we consider periodic software rejuvenation models based on the expected cost per unit time in the steady state under discrete-time operation circumstance. By applying the discrete renewal reward processes, we describe the stochastic behavior of a telecommunication billing application with a degradation mode, and determine the optimal periodic software rejuvenation schedule minimizing the expected cost. Similar to the earlier work by the same authors, we develop a statistically non-parametric algorithm to estimate the optimal software rejuvenation schedule, by applying the discrete total time on test concept. Numerical examples are presented to estimate the optimal software rejuvenation schedules from the simulation data. We discuss the asymptotic behavior of estimators developed in this paper.

Various wireless systems are being developed to meet users' needs, and the rapid increase in frequency demand that accompanies the increasing popularity of wireless services means that more effective use of frequency resources is urgently needed. However, existing base stations are making no effort to use frequency resources effectively, and cooperation among wireless system base stations is needed to use frequency resources more effectively. Base stations can cooperate more efficiently if they are able to use multiple channels of many wireless systems simultaneously. We propose an autonomous adaptive base station (AABS) that can switch among various wireless systems the way software defined radio (SDR) base stations do. AABS can autonomously select and use the most suitable wireless system on the basis of user traffic and its hardware resources. Moreover, frequency resources are used effectively because AABS prevents unnecessary radio wave transmission when the number of users in the wireless systems decreases. AABS is also suitable for "multi-link communication" because it can use multiple channels of multiple wireless systems simultaneously. We developed AABS prototype and evaluated its performance. Our experimental and computer simulation results show the performance of AABS and its efficiency.

In this paper we propose a discrete program-size dependent software reliability growth model flexibly describing the software failure-occurrence phenomenon based on a discrete Weibull distribution. We also conduct model comparisons of our discrete SRGM with existing discrete SRGMs by using actual data sets. The program size is one of the important metrics of software complexity. It is known that flexible discrete software reliability growth modeling is difficult due to the mathematical manipulation under a conventional modeling-framework in which the time-dependent behavior of the cumulative number of detected faults is formulated by a difference equation. Our discrete SRGM is developed under an existing unified modeling-framework based on the concept of general order-statistics, and can incorporate the effect of the program size into software reliability assessment. Further, we discuss the method of parameter estimation, and derive software reliability assessment measures of our discrete SRGM. Finally, we show numerical examples of discrete software reliability analysis based on our discrete SRGM by using actual data.

A mobile ad hoc network is an autonomous wireless network which consists of mobile nodes without any base stations. Many routing schemes and services have been proposed for mobile ad hoc networks. However, since these schemes tend to be evaluated through simulation experiments, it is not known whether they work effectively in real environments or not. Therefore, in order to verify their practical use in mobile ad hoc networks, it is necessary to perform field experiments using actual mobile nodes. If the network size is large, it is difficult to perform field experiments due to problems with limited battery, difficulty of topology control and so on. Realization of rapid topology change of the ad hoc networks topology is especially difficult. In order to solve this problem, this paper proposes a testing environment for mobile ad hoc network software, which emulates field experiments in wired networks.

This paper proposes to use eye movements to characterize the performance of individuals in reviewing software documents. We design and implement a system called DRESREM, which measures and records eye movements of document reviewers. Based on the eye movements captured by eye tracking device, the system computes the line number of the document that the reviewer is currently looking at. The system can also record and play back how the eyes moved during the review process. To evaluate the effectiveness of the system we conducted an experiment to analyze 30 processes of source code review (6 programs, 5 subjects) using the system. As a result, we have identified a particular pattern, called scan, in the subject's eye movements. Quantitative analysis showed that reviewers who did not spend enough time on the scan took more time to find defects on average.

We review practical case studies of a developing method of highly reliable real-time embedded control systems using a CPU model-based hardware/software co-simulation. We take an approach that enables us to fully simulate a virtual mechanical control system including a mechatronics plant, microcontroller hardware, and object code level software. This full virtual system approach simulates control system behavior, especially that of the microcontroller hardware and software. It enables design space exploration of microarchitecture, control design validation, robustness evaluation of the system, software optimization before components design. It also avoids potential problems. The advantage of this work is that it comprises all the components in a typical control system, enabling the designers to analyze effects from different domains, for example mechanical analysis of behavior due to differences in controller microarchitecture. To further improve system design, evaluation and analysis, we implemented an integrated behavior analyzer in the development environment. This analyzer can graphically display the processor behavior during the simulation without affecting simulation results such as task level CPU load, interrupt statistics, and the software variable transition chart. It also provides useful information on the system behavior. This virtual system analysis does not require software modification, does not change the control timing, and does not require any processing power from the target microcontroller. Therefore this method is suitable for real-time embedded control system design, in particular automotive control system design that requires a high level of reliability, robustness, quality, and safety. In this study, a Renesas SH-2A microcontroller model was developed on a CoMETTMplatform from VaST Systems Technology. An electronic throttle control (ETC) system and an engine control system were chosen to prove this concept. The electronic throttle body (ETB) model on the Saber® simulator from Synopsys® and the engine model on MATLAB®/Simulink® simulator from MathWorks can be simulated with the SH-2A model using a newly developed co-simulation interface between MATLAB®/Simulink® and CoMETTM. Though the SH-2A chip was being developed as the project was being executed, we were able to complete the OSEK OS development, control software design, and verification of the entire system using the virtual environment. After releasing a working sample chip in a later stage of the project, we found that such software could run on both actual ETC system and engine control system without critical problem. This demonstrates that our models and simulation environment are sufficiently credible and trustworthy.

Correctness of Java programs is important because they are executed in distributed computing environments. The object initialization scheme in the Java programming language is complicated, and this complexity may lead to undesirable semantic bugs. Various tools have been developed for detecting program patterns that might cause errors during program execution. However, current tools cannot identify code patterns in which an uninitialized field is accessed when an object is initialized. We refer to such erroneous patterns as uninitialized field references. In this paper, we propose a static pattern detection algorithm for identifying uninitialized field references. We design a sound analysis for this problem and implement an analyzer using the Soot framework. In addition, we apply our algorithm to some real Java applications. From the experiments, we identify 12 suspicious field references in the applications, and among those we find two suspected errors by manual inspection.

Web services (WS, hereafter) paradigm has attained such a relevance in both the academic and the industry world that the vision of the Internet has evolved from being considered as a mere repository of data to become the underlying infrastructure on which organizations' strategic business operations are being deployed [1]. Security is a key aspect if WS are to be generally accepted and adopted. In fact, over the past years, the most important consortiums of the Internet, like IETF, W3C or OASIS, have produced a huge number of WS-based security standards. Despite this spectacular growth, a development process that facilitates the systematic integration of security into all subprocesses of WS-based software development life-cycle does not exist. Eventually, this process should guide WS-based software developers in the specification of WS-based security requirements, the design of WS-based security architectures, and the deployment of the most suitable WS security standards. In this article, we will briefly present a process of this type, named PWSSec (Process for Web Services Security), and the artifacts used during the elicitation activity, which belongs to the subprocess WSSecReq aimed at producing a WS-based security requirement specification.

The specification of a Multi-Agent System (MAS) involves the identification of a large number of entities and their relationships. This is a non-trivial task that requires managing different views of the system. Many problems concerning this issue originate in the presence of contradictory goals and tasks, inconsistencies, and unexpected behaviours. Such troublesome configurations should be detected and prevented during the development process in order to study alternative ways to cope with them. In this paper, we present methods and tools that support the management of contradictions during the analysis and design of MAS. Contradiction management in MAS has to consider both individual (i.e. agent) and social (i.e. organization) aspects, and their dynamics. Such issues have already been considered in social sciences, and more concretely in the Activity Theory, a social framework for the study of interactions in activity systems. Our approach applies knowledge from Activity Theory in MAS, especially its base of contradiction patterns. That requires a formalization of this social theory in order to be applicable in a software engineering context and its adaptation to agent-oriented methodologies. Then, it will be possible to check the occurrence of contradiction patterns in a MAS specification and provide solutions to those situations. This technique has been validated by implementing an assistant for the INGENIAS Development Kit and has been tested with several case studies. This paper shows part of one of these experiments for a web application.

The paper presents a computer program for the calculation of contact mass loss in the case of evaporation, ablation and melting. It makes use of theoretical mathematical equations previously published by a lot of researchers. For the purposes of the program, an expert system algorithm was designed. The paper presents results obtained by means of the proposed program for silver, tungsten and copper.

Tailoring industrial standards is done to reduce costs and improve quality for a particular project. This paper proposes using Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) analysis to support tailoring decision-making under uncertainties. However, there are two major problems associated with the objectivity of BBNs; that is, the construction of the causal inference diagrams and the assignment of probabilities of their dependency relations. We have developed a method to solve the first problem. In general, the relations among different activities, resources, and products addressed in software standards can be expressed more directly in Unified Modeling Language (UML) diagrams than in BBN's. Such relations include association, aggregation, or inheritance relations. We have developed a schema to construct BBNs for process tailoring from given UML diagrams that model a particular standard. The proposed approach systematically constructing BBNs can also be used to assist decision-making in other software project management activities, such as planning and risk management.