Maria Istela Cagnin

PARFAIT: towards a framework-based agile reengineering process

We present a sketch of a framework-based agile reengineering process, named PARFAIT, whose objective is to provide the users with evolved versions of legacy systems, as soon as possible. The overall static structure of the rational unified process (RUP), originally developed for forward systems engineering, has been here adapted for reengineering and is used for PARFAIT documentation. Frameworks are used in the process aiming at an agile approach to support the reengineering. Frameworks allow applications to be rapidly created, more than if they are built from scratch. Agile characteristics, such as incremental approach, cooperative approach with users and customers, straightforwardness, etc. give PARFAIT the ability to support the rapid evolution of the legacy system to a new version, according to the users and customers needs. A summary of a case study and the results obtained in the reengineering are presented. This study refers to a concrete reengineering case of a real system for controlling entry and exit of electronic appliances in a repair shop.

Reengineering using design patterns

Starting from a legacy system, originally developed in C and using text files, we first conducted a reverse engineering of this system to obtain its object-oriented analysis model. Then, in a process that is called segmentation, we restructured the code, changing all data structures to abstract data types and procedures to methods, eliminating all data access anomalies. This paper presents an experiment in which part of the segmented code was reengineered to an object-oriented language (Java) and the text files were replaced by a relational database. We show how design patterns have been used to link the database with the object-oriented concepts of Java. We also report a maintenance experiment that compares maintainability of the legacy system, the segmented system, and the object-oriented version.

An experiment of legacy code segmentation to improve maintainability

An experiment with procedure oriented legacy code originally developed in C programming language and Xview graphical interface language is described. Its purpose is to segment the code to improve system maintainability. The segmentation is preceded by the legacy system reverse engineering according to an overall process called Fusion/RE. This process produces an object oriented system analysis model from procedure oriented legacy code. The segmentation is in fact a reengineering with change of orientation from procedural to object oriented preserving the system functionality and programming language. The segmentation process is described and its application to a real system case called StarSim, with 30000 lines of source code, that allows the edition and simulation of statecharts, is reported. Information about the improvement in maintainability is presented.

Component-Based Architecture for e-Gov Web Systems Development

In spite of the wide coverage of Internet and the need for Web systems to support various governmental tasks, the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul (Central West region) did not have a technological infrastructure which was sufficient to meet these needs in 2001. This led to setting up the Laboratory of Software Engineering (LEDES) at the Department of Computing and Statistics (DCT), the current Computing Faculty (FACOM), at the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), which is now collaborating effectively with the state government providing technological solutions, especially in Web sites and Web applications (WebApps). Developing these solutions has made it possible to capture patterns, define flexible architecture and subsequently set up a process of a Software Product Line (SPL) to develop WebApps in e-gov domain, as well as create computational support tools which automatize this process. This paper presents such computational support tools, lessons learnt during the most relevant projects which have been developed since the creation of LEDES, and the architecture for e-gov web systems development, resultant from early experience.

A Generation Environment for Front-End Layer in e-Government Content Management Systems

The Internet is a way by which organizations may show its identity, its purposes, its achievements, providing services and information to the public. A Content Management System (CMS) provides an efficient solution for content managing for Web sites and portals in general. Researches show that the organizations are interested in cost reduction associated to software development, and it is essential to use automated tools and a reuse systematic process. In this paper we present a generation environment for front-end layer in e-government CMS, in context of systematic reuse using Software Product Line (SPL) automated through frameworks, application generators and reuse repository. The generation environment implements automated mechanisms to reduce accessibility problems in generated Web applications.

Version control in crosscutting framework-based development

Crosscutting Frameworks are a type of Aspect-Oriented Framework, which includes only one crosscutting concern, such as persistence, distribution or security. This type of framework is currently being researched in-depth, however little attention has been given to the version control of these frameworks and of the applications developed with their support. Version control concerning the development based on crosscutting frameworks is more complex than in traditional development. Moreover, it is more complex than in the development based on traditional frameworks, which require suitable techniques to control the evolution of both the frameworks and developed applications. Thus, in this paper we present guidelines and a tool which aims to control the versions of Crosscutting Frameworks, as well as the applications which are developed with their support.

AccTrace: Accessibility in Phases of Requirements Engineering, Design, and Coding Software

Providing accessible web products is a challenge. In particular, the implementation of requirements is still a problem for many developers who may not have the necessary skills to perform this task, including difficulty in interpreting reference documents. This paper presents the AccTrace, a CASE tool (Eclipse plugin) that uses an ontology to specify the technical implementation of accessibility and promotes traceability of accessibility requirements from conception to the coding phases. This may give the developer useful information for the construction of accessible product.

BPMN* - A Notation for Representation of Variability in Business Process Towards Supporting Business Process Line Modeling

This paper proposes an extension for the Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN), named BPMN*, that based on the elements of the feature model (FM), commonly used to represent variability, intends to represent variability in Business Processes Line (BPL). This notation is evaluated by means of an empirical study whose main objective is to compare it with other notation named variant-rich BPMN (vrBPMN) regarding the productivity and correctness of the business process model template (BPMT), which is one of the artifacts that compose a BPL. From the results it was possible to observe that the proposed notation allows the elaboration of BPMT with less errors, although modeling time was kept almost the same.

A Version Control Tool for Framework-based Applications

Framework based application development is increasingly being adopted by software organizations. Frameworks provide reuse of both software design and code, and supply more trustable applications, as the components used to implement them have been previously tested. However, version control is more problematic than in conventional software development, as it is necessary to control both the framework versions and the versions of the applications created with it. Furthermore, aiming to minimize the impact of system requirement changes, framework based software development and reengineering processes adopt the incremental approach, which is a “must” in agile methodologies. This approach makes easier to fulfill requests for system requirements change at any time during the process application. In that context, there is a lack of tools that support version control of applications created with frameworks. This paper presents a tool that aims to aid in the fulfillment of that need, contributing to quality assurance of the products that result from software development or reengineering.

BPL-Framework 2.0: Support tool for Creation and Instantiation of Business Process Lines.

The use of software reuse techniques in the context of business processes, such as Business Process Lines (BPL), makes viable the efficient reuse of business process models. In this context, it is highlighted the importance of computational support to aid the creation, instantiation and evolution of BPLs, once that the models created are complex due to the domain inherent characteristics and the dynamism of the business. The objective of this paper is to present an evolution to the BPL-Framework 1.0, tool responsible for creating BPLs, to also include the instantiation of this kind of line. The tool facilitates the resolution of variability throughout the instantiation and generates the instance automatically without human intervention.