Ivor T. A. Spence

Extending BPM Environments of Your Choice with Performance Related Decision Support

What-if Simulations have been identified as one solution for business performance related decision support. Such support is especially useful in cases where it can be automatically generated out of Business Process Management (BPM) Environments from the existing business process models and performance parameters monitored from the executed business process instances. Currently, some of the available BPM Environments offer basic-level performance prediction capabilities. However, these functionalities are normally too limited to be generally useful for performance related decision support at business process level. In this paper, an approach is presented which allows the non-intrusive integration of sophisticated tooling for what-if simulations, analytic performance prediction tools, process optimizations or a combination of such solutions into already existing BPM environments. The approach abstracts from process modelling techniques which enable automatic decision support spanning processes across numerous BPM Environments. For instance, this enables end-to-end decision support for composite processes modelled with the Business Process Modelling Notation (BPMN) on top of existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) processes modelled with proprietary languages.

Towards Utilizing Model-Driven Engineering of Composite Applications for Business Performance Analysis

Composite Applications on top of SAPs implementation of SOA (Enterprise SOA) enable the extension of already existing business logic. In this paper we show, based on a case study, how Model-Driven Engineering concepts are applied in the development of such Composite Applications. Our Case Study extends a back-end business process which is required for the specific needs of a demo company selling wine. We use this to describe how the business centric models specifying the modified business behaviour of our case study can be utilized for business performance analysis where most of the actions are performed by humans. In particular, we apply a refined version of Model-Driven Performance Engineering that we proposed in our previous work and motivate which business domain specifics have to be taken into account for business performance analysis. We additionally motivate the need for performance related decision support for domain experts, who generally lack performance related skills. Such a support should offer visual guidance about what should be changed in the design and resource mapping to get improved results with respect to modification constraints and performance objectives, or objectives for time.

Efficient implementation of a portable parallel programming model for image processing

This paper describes a domain specific programming model for execution on parallel and distributed architectures. The model has initially been targeted at the application area of image processing, though the techniques developed may be more generally applicable to other domains where an algebraic or library-based approach is common. Efficiency is achieved by the concept of a self-optimising class library of primitive image processing operations, which allows programs to be written in a high level, algebraic notation and which is automatically parallelised (using an application-specific data parallel approach). The class library is extended automatically with optimised operations, generated by a transformation system, giving improved execution performance. The parallel implementation of the model described here is based on MPI and has been tested on a C40 processor network, a quad-processor Unix workstation, and a network of PCs running Linux. Timings are included to indicate the impact of the automatic optimisation facility (rather than the effect of parallelisation). Copyright

Computing Zeros of Analytic Functions in the Complex Plane without using Derivatives

Abstract We present a package in Fortran 90 which solves f ( z ) = 0 , where z ∈ W ⊂ C without requiring the evaluation of derivatives, f ′ ( z ) . W is bounded by a simple closed curve and f ( z ) must be holomorphic within W . We have developed and tested the package to support our work in the modeling of high frequency and optical wave guiding and resonant structures. The respective eigenvalue problems are particularly challenging because they require the high precision computation of all multiple complex roots of f ( z ) confined to the specified finite domain. Generally f ( z ) , despite being holomorphic, does not have explicit analytical form thereby inhibiting evaluation of its derivatives. Program summary Title of program: EZERO Catalogue identifier: ADXY_v1_0 Program summary URL: http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/ADXY_v1_0 Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queens University of Belfast, N. Ireland Computer: IBM compatible desktop PC Operating system: Fedora Core 2 Linux (with 2.6.5 kernel) Programming languages used: Fortran 90 No. of bits in a word: 32 No. of processors used: one Has the code been vectorized: no No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 21045 Number of bytes in distributed program including test data, etc.: 223 756 Distribution format: tar.gz Peripherals used: none Method of solution: Our package uses the principle of the argument to count the number of zeros encompassed by a contour and then computes estimates for the zeros. Refined results for each zero are obtained by application of the derivative-free Halley method with or without Aitken acceleration, as the user wishes.

Systematic Usage of Embedded Modelling Languages in Automated Model Transformation Chains

Annotation of programs using embedded Domain-Specific Languages (embedded DSLs), such as the program annotation facility for the Java programming language, is a well-known practice in computer science. In this paper we argue for and propose a specialized approach for the usage of embedded Domain-Specific Modelling Languages (embedded DSMLs) in Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) processes that in particular supports automated many-step model transformation chains. It can happen that information defined at some point, using an embedded DSML, is not required in the next immediate transformation step, but in a later one. We propose a new approach of model annotation enabling flexible many-step transformation chains. The approach utilizes a combination of embedded DSMLs, trace models and a megamodel. We demonstrate our approach based on an example MDE process and an industrial case study.

Adaptable Components for Software Product Line Engineering

This paper explores techniques for implementing adaptable software components. Such techniques can greatly facilitate the implementation of software product lines. The techniques we present allow the construction of large transparently adaptable components via composition and parameterization. Functional and structural adaptation, to any level of nesting, is achieved at the point of instantiation via recursive argument lists whose structure mirrors that of the component. The techniques are currently based on the C++ language, although work is under way to extend them to other languages (particularly Java?).

On the Virtualization of CUDA Based GPU Remoting on ARM and X86 Machines in the GVirtuS Framework

The astonishing development of diverse and different hardware platforms is twofold: on one side, the challenge for the exascale performance for big data processing and management; on the other side, the mobile and embedded devices for data collection and human machine interaction. This drove to a highly hierarchical evolution of programming models. GVirtuS is the general virtualization system developed in 2009 and firstly introduced in 2010 enabling a completely transparent layer among GPUs and VMs. This paper shows the latest achievements and developments of GVirtuS, now supporting CUDA 6.5, memory management and scheduling. Thanks to the new and improved remoting capabilities, GVirtus now enables GPU sharing among physical and virtual machines based on x86 and ARM CPUs on local workstations, computing clusters and distributed cloud appliances.

Zero-One designs produce small hard SAT instances

Some basics of combinatorial block design are combined with certain constraint satisfaction problems of interest to the satisfiability community. The paper shows how such combinations lead to satisfiability problems, and shows empirically that these are some of the smallest very hard satisfiability problems ever constructed. Partially balanced (0,1) designs (PB01Ds) are introduced as an extension of balanced incomplete block designs (BIBDs) and (0,1) designs. Also, (0,1) difference sets are introduced as an extension of certain cyclical difference sets. Constructions based on (0,1) difference sets enable generation of PB01Ds over a much wider range of parameters than is possible for BIBDs. Building upon previous work of Spence, it is shown how PB01Ds lead to small, very hard, unsatisfiable formulas. A new three-dimensional form of combinatorial block design is introduced, and leads to small, very hard, satisfiable formulas. The methods are validated on solvers that performed well in the SAT 2009 and earlier competitions.

Towards Performance Related Decision Support for Model Driven Engineering of Enterprise SOA Applications

Model driven performance engineering (MDPE) enables early performance feedback in a MDE process, in order to avoid late identification of performance problems which could cause significant additional development costs. In our past work we argued that a synchronization mechanism between development and performance analysis models is required to adequately integrate analysis results into the development process enabling performance related decision support. In this paper we present a solution for this requirement. We present a new multi-view based approach and its implementation enabling systematic performance related decision support. We currently apply our research on the model driven engineering of process orchestrations on top of SAPs enterprise service oriented architecture (Enterprise SOA).

Towards more flexible architecture description languages for industrial applications

Architecture Description Languages (ADLs) have emerged in recent years as a tool for providing high-level descriptions of software systems in terms of their architectural elements and the relationships among them. Most of the current ADLs exhibit limitations which prevent their widespread use in industrial applications. In this paper, we discuss these limitations and introduce ALI, an ADL that has been developed to address such limitations. The ALI language provides a rich and flexible syntax for describing component interfaces, architectural patterns, and meta-information. Multiple graphical architectural views can then be derived from ALIs textual notation.