Software Science and Engineering – serie

Integrating the best aspects of the structured systems analysis and design method and the prototyping method, this work introduces a unique approach to computer systems development which is simple, flexible, thorough, and cost-effective.

This book is the proceedings ofa conference held November 1-3, 1989, to honor Samuel D. Conte for his many contributions to computer sci­ ences at Purdue University and to the profession as a whole. The com­ puter sciences program reflected the breadth of Conte's interests and ac­ complishments; there were tributes to Conte, perspectives on computer science itself, and research papers. The first part of these proceedings chronicles the career and contri­ butions; much of it is based on Conte's remarks made at the conference banquet. The second part of the proceedings starts with one vision of the future of computer sciences given in Peter Denning's keynote address. Historical accounts of building successful educational programs in com­ puter sciences follow. The third part consists of seven research contribu­ tions, primarily from past or present colleagues. These include Conte's numerical analysis, computational geometry, and discussions of software engineering. The conference was organized by the Purdue University Department of Computer Sciences and the Software Engineering Research Center at Purdue. Both of these organizations were founded by Conte, so is fitting for them to recognize their founder's achievements in such a con­ crete way.

Observers in the present usually have an advantage when it comes to interpreting events of the past. In the case of software reuse, how­ ever, it is unclear why an idea that has gained such universal accep­ tance was the source of swirling controversy when it began to be taken seriously by the software engineering community in the mid-1980's. From a purely conceptual point of view, the reuse of software de­ signs and components promises nearly risk-free benefits to the devel­ oper. Virtually every model of software cost and development effort predicts first-order dependencies on either products size or the num­ ber of steps carried out in development. Reduce the amount of new product to be developed and the cost of producing the product de­ creases. Remove development steps, and total effort is reduced. By reusing previously developed engineering products the amount of new product and the number of development steps can be reduced. In this way, reuse clearly has a major influence on reducing total development cost and effort. This, of course, raises the issue of from whence the reused products arise. There has to be a prior investment in creating "libraries of reuse products before reuse can be successfuL . . " How can organizations with a "bottom line" orientation be enticed into contributing to a reuse venture? Fortunately, the economics of reuse l resembles many other financial investment situations .

Software Engineering and Environment examines the various aspects of software development, describing a number of software life cycle models. Featuring an abundance of helpful illustrations, this cogent work is an excellent resource for project managers, programmers, and other computer scientists involved in software production.