Implementation of blocking coordinated atomic actions based on forward error recovery

The coordinated atomic action concept was proposed as a means for providing fault tolerance in complex objectoriented systems that incorporate both cooperative and competitive concurrency. This paper has two purposes: to discuss a particular implementation of this concept and to address a number of the implementation issues that are common to any experiments with this concept. Our implementation relies on a detailed set of programming conventions for the standard Ada 95 language and uses a scheme of forward error recovery incorporating concurrent exception handling and resolution. Ada 95 has a number of unique features which make it a particularly good choice for our experiments. We believe that our approach is practical and useful for many critical applications with high dependability requirements.     

Variability extraction and modeling for product variants

Fast-changing hardware and software technologies in addition to larger and more specialized customer bases demand software tailored to meet very diverse requirements. Software development approaches that aim at capturing this diversity on a single consolidated platform often require large upfront investments, e.g., time or budget. Alternatively, companies resort to developing one variant of a software product at a time by reusing as much as possible from already-existing product variants. However, identifying and extracting the parts to reuse is an error-prone and inefficient task compounded by the typically large number of product variants. Hence, more disciplined and systematic approaches are needed to cope with the complexity of developing and maintaining sets of product variants. Such approaches require detailed information about the product variants, the features they provide and their relations. In this paper, we present an approach to extract such variability information from product variants. It identifies traces from features and feature interactions to their implementation artifacts, and computes their dependencies. This work can be useful in many scenarios ranging from ad hoc development approaches such as clone-and-own to systematic reuse approaches such as software product lines. We applied our variability extraction approach to six case studies and provide a detailed evaluation. The results show that the extracted variability information is consistent with the variability in our six case study systems given by their variability models and available product variants.     

Deep reinforcement learning in computer vision: a comprehensive survey

Deep reinforcement learning augments the reinforcement learning framework and utilizes the powerful representation of deep neural networks. Recent works have demonstrated the remarkable successes of deep reinforcement learning in various domains including finance, medicine, healthcare, video games, robotics, and computer vision. In this work, we provide a detailed review of recent and state-of-the-art research advances of deep reinforcement learning in computer vision. We start with comprehending the theories of deep learning, reinforcement learning, and deep reinforcement learning. We then propose a categorization of deep reinforcement learning methodologies and discuss their advantages and limitations. In particular, we divide deep reinforcement learning into seven main categories according to their applications in computer vision, i.e. (i) landmark localization (ii) object detection; (iii) object tracking; (iv) registration on both 2D image and 3D image volumetric data (v) image segmentation; (vi) videos analysis; and (vii) other applications. Each of these categories is further analyzed with reinforcement learning techniques, network design, and performance. Moreover, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the existing publicly available datasets and examine source code availability. Finally, we present some open issues and discuss future research directions on deep reinforcement learning in computer vision.

     

Experiences developing architectures for realizing thin‐client diagram editing tools

Diagram‐centric applications such as software design tools, project planning tools and business process modelling tools are usually ‘thick‐client’ applications running as stand‐alone desktop applications. There are several advantages to providing such design tools as Web‐based or even PDA‐ and mobile‐phone‐based applications. These include ease of access and upgrade, provision of collaborative work support and Web‐based integration with other applications. However, building such thin‐client diagram editing tools is very challenging. We have developed several thin‐client diagram editing applications realized as a set of plug‐in extensions to a meta‐tool for visual design environment development. In this paper, we discuss key user interaction and software architecture issues, illustrate examples of interacting with our thin‐client diagram editing tools, describe our design and implementation approaches, and present the results of several different evaluations of the resultant applications. Our experiences will be useful for those interested in developing their own thin‐client diagram editing architectures and applications. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

一种面向普适计算的自适应软件平台的设计与实现

普适计算的适应性特征带来了有必要在软件平台层面解决的一系列共性问题,包括如何定义所支持的自适应软件体系结构、如何为上层应用的自适应提供必要的公共服务、如何使平台自身可以适应多维资源受限环境等。针对这些挑战,提出了对普适计算设备/资源进行适应性抽象的自主单元的概念,在此基础上给出了面向普适计算的自适应软件平台UbiStar的系统架构及其核心机制的设计与实现,并对UbiStar平台对适应性软件所提供的支持机制进行了概括,最后对相关工作进行了分析与比较。     

Algorithmic support for model transformation in object-oriented software development

Current methods for object-oriented software development provide notation for the specification of models, yet do not sufficiently relate the different model types to each other, nor do they provide support for transformations from one model type to another. This makes transformations a manual activity, which increases the risk of inconsistencies among models and may lead to a loss of information. We have developed and implemented an algorithm supporting one of the transitions from analysis to design, the transformation of scenario models into behavior models. This algorithm supports the Unified Modelling Language (UML), mapping the UML's collaboration diagrams into state transition diagrams. We believe that CASE tools implementing such algorithms will be highly beneficial in object-oriented software development. In this paper, we provide an overview of our algorithm and discuss all its major steps. The algorithm is detailed in semi-formal English and illustrated with a number of examples. Furthermore, the algorithm is assessed from different perspectives, such as scope and role in the overall development process, issues in the design of the algorithm, complexity, implementation and experimentation, and related work. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Monitoring children’s developmental progress using augmented toys and activity recognition

Previous research has established the connection between the way in which children interact with objects and the potential early identification of children with autism. Those findings motivate our own work to develop "smart toys," objects embedded with wireless sensors that are safe and enjoyable for very small children, that allow detailed interaction data to be easily recorded. These sensor-enabled toys provide opportunities for autism research by reducing the effort required to collect and analyze a child’s interactions with objects. In the future, such toys may be a useful part of clinical and in-home assessment tools. In this paper, we discuss the design of a collection of smart toys that can be used to automatically characterize the way in which a child is playing. We use statistical models to provide objective, quantitative measures of object play interactions. We also developed a tool to view rich forms of annotated play data for later analysis. We report the results of recognition experiments on more than fifty play sessions conducted with adults and children as well as discuss the opportunities for using this approach to support video annotation and other applications.     

Al in computer games: Survey and perspectives

Computer games have traditionally implemented empirical solutions to many Al problems and are now turning to more traditional Al algorithms. After introducing the role of Al in gameplay, we review the main techniques used in current computer games such as Finite-State Transition Networks, rule-based systems and search algorithms. We describe the implementation of Al in several commercial computer games, as well as academic research in Al targeting computer games applications. We conclude this review by discussing future trends and proposing research directions.     

基于TETRA语音编解码的DSP硬件平台设计

在分析了经优化后的TETRA语音编解码原理算法的C代码后,根据其算法的复杂度及其所必须的硬件开销,选型TMS320C5402为主处理器,并根据该系统所需要的运算速度需求和独立自主模式确定了其他的芯片选型,给出了基于TETRA语音信号编解码处理平台的详细系统设计过程、电路原理图及PCB版图,开发了相应的软件程序,包括系统初始化程序、Bootload程序和时序电路CPLD程序,还对硬件和软件调试过程中遇到的问题及解决方法进行了详细的讨论.运行和程序测试结果表明:该实验板工作稳定,性能良好,可应用于基于TETRA语音信号编解码处理算法的实现.     

Using software evolution to focus architectural recovery

Ideally, a software project commences with requirements gathering and specification, reaches its major milestone with system implementation and delivery, and then continues, possibly indefinitely, into an operation and maintenance phase. The software system's architecture is in many ways the linchpin of this process: it is supposed to be an effective reification of the system's technical requirements and to be faithfully reflected in the system's implementation. Furthermore, the architecture is meant to guide system evolution, while also being updated in the process. However, in reality developers frequently deviate from the architecture, causing architectural erosion, a phenomenon in which the initial, “as documented' architecture of an application is (arbitrarily) modified to the point where its key properties no longer hold. Architectural recovery is a process frequently used to cope with architectural erosion whereby the current, “as implemented” architecture of a software system is extracted from the system's implementation. In this paper we propose a light-weight approach to architectural recovery, called Focus, which has three unique facets. First, Focus uses a system's evolution requirements to isolate and incrementally recover only the fragment of the system's architecture affected by the evolution. In this manner, Focus allows engineers to direct their primary attention to the part of the system that is immediately impacted by the desired change; subsequent changes will incrementally uncover additional parts of the system's architecture. Secondly, in addition to software components, which are the usual target of existing recovery approaches, Focus also recovers the key architectural notions of software connector and architectural style. Finally, Focus does not only recover a system's architecture, but may in fact rearchitect the system. We have applied and evaluated Focus in the context of several off-the-shelf applications and architectural styles to date. We discuss its key strengths and point out several open issues that will frame our future work.     

On the effectiveness of Linux containers for network virtualization

This paper presents a novel approach to the study of multi-technological networks based on Linux containers and software emulators. We illustrate the architecture and implementation issues of a modular and flexible testbed (NetBoxIT) that supports the virtualization and the concurrent, real-time execution of several independent emulators on a single, multi-core hardware platform. Distinct virtual networks can be instantiated, and connected to synthesize heterogeneous networks configurations. NetBoxIT is also an open platform, which can be interfaced with external networks and nodes, enabling the evaluation of true users’ applications and protocols. We examine its performance under different viewpoints (scalability, computational load, timing overheads, and realism) and we show how the proposed testbed architecture leads to a general-purpose, reliable, and economical tool for assessing multipart networks with respect to real-world applications. Moreover, we discuss which are the current and future technologies that can be introduced to reduce the testbed timing overheads and to further improve performance.     

FANTASIA: a framework for advanced natural tools and applications in social,interactive approaches

With the recent availability of industry-grade, high-performing engines for video games production, researchers in different fields have been exploiting the advanced technologies offered by these artefacts to improve the quality of the interactive experiences they design. While these engines provide excellent and easy-to-use tools to design interfaces and complex rule-based systems to control the experience, there are some aspects of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research they do not support in the same way because of their original mission and related design patterns pointing at a different primary target audience. In particular, the more research in HCI evolves towards natural, socially engaging approaches, the more there is the need to rapidly design and deploy software architectures to support these new paradigms. Topics such as knowledge representation, probabilistic reasoning and voice synthesis demand space as possible instruments within this new ideal design environment. In this work, we propose a framework, named FANTASIA, designed to integrate a set of chosen modules (a graph database, a dialogue manager, a game engine and a voice synthesis engine) and support rapid design and implementation of interactive applications for HCI studies. We will present a number of different case studies to exemplify how the proposed tools can be deployed to develop very different kinds of interactive applications and we will discuss ongoing and future work to further extend the framework we propose.

     

Crafting the Compelling User Experience

This article provides an introduction to the usage of software engineering approaches and tools for the design of user experience (UE). This approach was developed for three main reasons: (a) to provide UE design teams a rigorous, methodical, encompassing method that can be applied throughout the entire product development cycle; (b) to provide designers a way to work with abstract concepts to establish the conceptual design of the system before progressing to the realization of the design to the appropriate platform; and (c) to communicate the intended design to the implementation team in a manner that is concise, complete, and familiar. The approach is the application of Unified Modeling Language concepts to describe users and the UE design rather than the technical architecture. It is believed that designing the UE design separately from the technical architecture will help ensure teams deliver a usable and delightful UE. The methods in this article have been applied to a handful of real-world projects in the last year and a half. Thus far, the application of software engineering approaches and tools have been found to be very powerful aids that have enabled the creation of highly useful Web experiences as well as software applications.

Our intent is to address the full gamut of issues involved in creating a total user experience (UE)-from discovery of users needs through high-level and low-level design, ensuring fidelity during development, and deployment, with a full assessment of how well the design meets users' needs. We believe that through a concerted use of such a rigorous approach we can greatly improve not only the UE of products we create, but also the experience of designing and developing them. We are not the only team taking this direction in UE design. It has become clear to many in our field that a more rigorous, thorough, and accurate approach to UE design is not only possible-it is necessary, for many of the same reasons that software engineers long ago embraced such practices. As we are evolving our approaches in other phases, this article focuses on the discovery and design phase activities.     

基于软件体系结构的反射式中间件研究

Internet为分布应用提供了一种开放、动态的运行环境,这要求分布应用的主要基础设施中间件能够支持运行时查看并调整平台内部状态和行为,由此产生了反射式中间件.目前的反射式中间件研究与实践存在3个不足:注重系统局部或单个实体的反射而缺乏全局视图;注重中间件平台内部功能的反射,而对上层应用的反射不够;集中于CORBA平台,而对J2EE平台的反射性研究较少.介绍了一个反射式的J2EE应用服务器PKUAS.基于构件化的平台内部体系结构,PKUAS引入软件体系结构作为全局视图以实现反射体系对系统整体的表示和控制,作为J2EE应用服务器,PKUAS可反射底层平台以及上层EJB构件.同时,以PKUAS实时监控工具为例,探讨了如何利用基于软件体系结构的反射体系管理整个系统,并给出了PKUAS与其他几种反射式中间件的比较.该工作有效地解决了现阶段反射式中间件研究的不足,提高了反射式中间件的实用性.     

An Evaluation of the Cost and Performance of Scientific Workflows on Amazon EC2

Workflows are used to orchestrate data-intensive applications in many different scientific domains. Workflow applications typically communicate data between processing steps using intermediate files. When tasks are distributed, these files are either transferred from one computational node to another, or accessed through a shared storage system. As a result, the efficient management of data is a key factor in achieving good performance for workflow applications in distributed environments. In this paper we investigate some of the ways in which data can be managed for workflows in the cloud. We ran experiments using three typical workflow applications on Amazon’s EC2 cloud computing platform. We discuss the various storage and file systems we used, describe the issues and problems we encountered deploying them on EC2, and analyze the resulting performance and cost of the workflows.