Martin L. Barrett

Wavelet Image Compressor—MinImage

Nowadays, still images are used everywhere in the digital world. The shortages of storage capacity and transmission bandwidth make efficient compression solutions essential. A revolutionary mathematics tool, wavelet transform, has already shown its power in image processing. MinImage, the major topic of this paper, is an application that compresses still images by wavelets. MinImage is used to compress grayscale images and true color images. It implements the wavelet transform to code standard BMP image files to LET wavelet image files, which is defined in MinImage. The code is written in C++ on the Microsoft Windows NT platform. This paper illustrates the design and implementation details in Min-Image according to the image compression stages. First, the preprocessor generates the wavelet transform blocks. Second, the basic wavelet decomposition is applied to transform the image data to the wavelet coefficients. The discrete wavelet transforms are the kernel component of MinImage and are discussed in detail. The different wavelet transforms can be plugged in to extend the functionality of MinImage. The third step is the quantization. The standard scalar quantization algorithm and the optimized quantization algorithm, as well as the dequantization, are described. The last part of MinImage is the entropy-coding schema. The reordering of the coefficients based on the Peano Curve and the different entropy coding methods are discussed. This paper also gives the specification of the wavelet compression parameters adjusted by the end user. The interface, parameter specification, and analysis of MinImage are shown in the final appendix.

Simulating requirements gathering

One of the difficulties in teaching a project-based Software Engineering course for undergraduates is giving students experience with requirements gathering before they begin the course project. This paper describes a simulation of Joint Application Design (JAD), a technique used in industry to gather requirements from users. The simulation is a role-playing exercise in which students play the parts of both developers and customers involved in specifying a new software product. Each participant is given a script of behaviors to act out for his or her role and a set of specific requirements for the product. The participants must work out conflicts and ambiguities built into the simulation to produce a consistent product specification.

Incorporating software architecture in the computer science curriculum (abstract only)

This workshop introduces software architecture concepts and their incorporation into computer science and software engineering curricula. Participants will learn techniques used in industry to specify quality attributes critical to architecture and use those attributes to drive the system structure using common architectural styles. Exercises will demonstrate these techniques and explore pedagogical uses of the techniques in CS and SE classes. Sample computer science curricula with courses that integrate workshop material will be presented. Presenters will lead a brainstorming session to help participants develop practical methods for using the material in their courses. Participants will become part of a community of educators sharing educational resources in software architecture.

Incorporating software architecture in the computer science curriculum

This workshop introduces the concepts of software architecture and how to incorporate these concepts into the computer science and software engineering curriculum. Participants will learn techniques used in industry to specify quality attributes critical to system performance, modifiability, and availability, and to use those attributes to drive the system structure using well-known architectural styles. Exercises will be used to demonstrate the techniques and to practice effective methods for students to learn the techniques in CS and SE classes. Participants will become part of the community of educators sharing educational resources in software architecture.