Automated refactoring to the Null Object design pattern

ContextNull-checking conditionals are a straightforward solution against null dereferences. However, their frequent repetition is considered a sign of poor program design, since they introduce source code duplication and complexity that impacts code comprehension and maintenance. The Null Object design pattern enables the replacement of null-checking conditionals with polymorphic method invocations that are bound, at runtime, to either a real object or a Null Object.ObjectiveThis work proposes a novel method for automated refactoring to Null Object that eliminates null-checking conditionals associated with optional class fields, i.e., fields that are not initialized in all class instantiations and, thus, their usage needs to be guarded in order to avoid null dereferences.MethodWe introduce an algorithm for automated discovery of refactoring opportunities to Null Object. Moreover, we specify the source code transformation procedure and an extensive set of refactoring preconditions for safely refactoring an optional field and its associated null-checking conditionals to the Null Object design pattern. The method is implemented as an Eclipse plug-in and is evaluated on a set of open source Java projects.ResultsSeveral refactoring candidates are discovered in the projects used in the evaluation and their refactoring lead to improvement of the cyclomatic complexity of the affected classes. The successful execution of the projects’ test suites, on their refactored versions, provides empirical evidence on the soundness of the proposed source code transformation. Runtime performance results highlight the potential for applying our method to a wide range of project sizes.ConclusionOur method automates the elimination of null-checking conditionals through refactoring to the Null Object design pattern. It contributes to improvement of the cyclomatic complexity of classes with optional fields. The runtime processing overhead of applying our method is limited and allows its integration to the programmer’s routine code analysis activities.     

融合特征的快速SURF配准算法

目的 针对基于SURF特征点的图像配准算法对颜色单一的彩色图像提取的特征点较少及配准时间复杂度高等问题,提出一种基于融合特征的快速SURF(speed up robust features)配准算法.方法 该算法首先提取图像的颜色不变量边缘特征和CS-LBP(central symmetry-local binary patterns)纹理特征形成融合特征灰度图,并利用颜色直方图的方差自适应调节融合特征间的权重.其次,在融合特征灰度图上提取SURF(speed up robust features)特征点及描述子.再次,用最近邻匹配法形成粗匹配对,结合改进的快速RANSAC(random sample consensus)算法得到精匹配对.最后,使用最小二乘法求出映射关系用于配准图像.结果 本文算法能够在融合特征上提取更稳定的SURF特征点,用该特征点进行配准能提高配准5％精度,且减少时间复杂度15％,实现了对普通场景下图像的快速配准.结论 本文算法能提取稳定数量的特征点,提高了精确度与鲁棒性,并通过改进的RANSAC算法提高了执行效率,降低了迭代次数.     

表面活性剂对气液两相螺旋管流流动特性的影响

为了考察阴离子型表面活性剂十二烷基硫酸钠(SDS)对气液两相螺旋管流流动特性的影响,该文用实验研究了不同浓度的SDS溶液体系气液两相螺旋管流的流型转变及压降规律。实验装置为由有机玻璃圆管制成的长2 m内径23 mm的实验段,以SDS水溶液和空气为实验介质,气液相折算流速均为0―2.5 m/s,SDS溶液质量浓度10―90 mg/kg,螺旋流由5种不同型号的金属螺旋叶轮诱导产生。利用直接观察和高速摄像相结合的方法观测流型的变化,并用液柱式压差计测量实验管段上下游间压差,实验在常温常压条件下进行。实验共得到螺旋线状流、螺旋波状分层流、螺旋轴状流、螺旋弥散流4种流型,与未添加表面活性剂体系相比较,并未得到螺旋泡状流和螺旋团状流这两种流型。同时,随着SDS溶液浓度的增大,气液两相螺旋流逐渐向螺旋弥散流流型转变,这是因为低浓度的SDS溶液随着其浓度的增大,气液界面张力逐渐减小,而气液掺混程度则会不断增大。此外,与未添加表面活性剂体系相比较,添加了SDS体系的气液两相螺旋管流压降梯度将会减小。最后,阐述了气液两相螺旋管流强化天然气水合物生成的研究及应用现状,并针对多相流研究现状,提出了气液两相流相间传热特性应成为今后研究热点等建议。     

A metamodeling approach for pattern specification and management

The formal specification of design patterns is central to pattern research and is the foundation of solving various pattern-related problems.In this paper,we propose a metamodeling approach for pattern specification,in which a pattern is modeled as a meta-level class and its participants are meta-level references.Instead of defining a new metamodel,we reuse the Unified Modeling Language(UML)metamodel and incorporate the concepts of Variable and Set into our approach,which are unavailable in the UML but essential for pattern specification.Our approach provides straightforward solutions for pattern-related problems,such as pattern instantiation,evolution,and implementation.By integrating the solutions into a single framework,we can construct a pattern management system,in which patterns can be instantiated,evolved,and implemented in a correct and manageable way.     

论软件设计模式的应用

设计模式是当今计算机科学中十分热门的话题之一,设计模式的重要性早已被越来越多的开发人员认识并应用到。一到底什么是软件的设计模式,它又是如何衍生而来的,种类又该如何区分,本文将展开介绍。     

Observer模式在．NET多线程并行计算中的应用

对观察者（Observer）设计模式进行了分析,并利用．NET框架对其进行了改进;基于．NET Framework4．0,将改进后的模型应用到多线程并行程序的设计中,从而简化了开发过程,并且使系统结构更清晰,便于扩展和维护。     

将局部二进制模式应用于动态纹理识别的新方法

动态纹理的处理、描述与识别是纹理分析的热门领域。动态纹理是对普通纹理在时间域方面的扩展,包括动态特征和静态特征。基于LBP算法的扩展提出的VLBP算法较好的描述了动态纹理特征,但是计算量过大,模板过多。本文提出了一种由VLBP算法改进的基于局部二进制运动模式的特征提取方法用以动态纹理的描述和识别,它包括提取动态特征和提取静态特征两部分。将LBP算子做为块匹配准则提取局部二进制运动模式柱状图做为动态特征的描述,提取LBP柱状图做为静态特征的描述,并将二者连接得出描述动态纹理特征的联合的局部二进制运动模式柱状图。通过对DynTex集实验的结果表明,本文提出的方法在性能和识别率方面均要优于VLBP。     

Mining partial periodic correlations in time series

Recently, periodic pattern mining from time series data has been studied extensively. However, an interesting type of periodic pattern, called partial periodic (PP) correlation in this paper, has not been investigated. An example of PP correlation is that power consumption is high either on Monday or Tuesday but not on both days. In general, a PP correlation is a set of offsets within a particular period such that the data at these offsets are correlated with a certain user-desired strength. In the above example, the period is a week (7 days), and each day of the week is an offset of the period. PP correlations can provide insightful knowledge about the time series and can be used for predicting future values. This paper introduces an algorithm to mine time series for PP correlations based on the principal component analysis (PCA) method. Specifically, given a period, the algorithm maps the time series data to data points in a multidimensional space, where the dimensions correspond to the offsets within the period. A PP correlation is then equivalent to correlation of data when projected to a subset of the dimensions. The algorithm discovers, with one sequential scan of data, all those PP correlations (called minimum PP correlations) that are not unions of some other PP correlations. Experiments using both real and synthetic data sets show that the PCA-based algorithm is highly efficient and effective in finding the minimum PP correlations. Zhen He is a lecturer in the Department of Computer Science at La Trobe University. His main research areas are database systems optimization, time series mining, wireless sensor networks, and XML information retrieval. Prior to joining La Trobe University, he worked as a postdoctoral research associate in the University of Vermont. He holds Bachelors, Honors and Ph.D degrees in Computer Science from the Australian National University. X. Sean Wang received his Ph.D degree in Computer Science from the University of Southern California in 1992. He is currently the Dorothean Chair Professor in Computer Science at the University of Vermont. He has published widely in the general area of databases and information security, and was a recipient of the US National Science Foundation Research Initiation and CAREER awards. His research interests include database systems, information security, data mining, and sensor data processing. Byung Suk Lee is associate professor of Computer Science at the University of Vermont. His main research areas are database systems, data modeling, and information retrieval. He held positions in industry and academia: Gold Star Electric, Bell Communications Research, Datacom Global Communications, University of St. Thomas, and currently University of Vermont. He was also a visiting professor at Dartmouth College and a participating guest at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He served on international conferences as a program committee member, a publicity chair, and a special session organizer, and also on US federal funding proposal review panel. He holds a BS degree from Seoul National University, MS from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, and Ph.D from Stanford University. Alan C. H. Ling is an assistant professor at Department of Computer Science in University of Vermont. His research interests include combinatorial design theory, coding theory, sequence designs, and applications of design theory.     

Test frame updating in CPM testing of Prolog programs

Category Partition Method (CPM) is a general approach to specification-based program testing, where test frame reduction and refinement are two important issues. Test frame reduction is necessary since too many test frames may be produced, and test frame refinement is important since during CPM testing new information about test frame generation may be achieved and considered incrementally. Besides the information provided by testers or users, implementation related knowledge offers alternative information for reducing and refining CPM test frames. This paper explores the idea by proposing a call patterns semantics based test frame updating method for Prolog programs, in which a call patterns analysis is used to collect information about the way in which procedures are used in a program. The updated test frames will be represented as constraints. The effect of our test frame updating is two-fold. On one hand, it removes “uncared” data from the original set of test frames; on the other hand, it refines the test frames to which we should pay more attention. The first effect makes the input domain on which a procedure must be tested a subset of the procedure’s input domain, and the latter makes testers stand more chance to find out the faults that are more likely to show their presence in the use of the program under consideration. Our test frame updating method preserves the effectiveness of CPM testing with respect to the detection of faults we care. The test case generation from the updated set of test frames is also discussed. In order to show the applicability of our method an approximation call patterns semantics is proposed, and the test frame updating on the semantics is illustrated by an example.