Massimo Ancona

Mobile computing in a hospital: the WARD-IN-HAND project

We present file guidelines of a new project whose main task is to exploit mobile computers, comlected via a Wireless Networks, in Personal Health systems, computerizing patient clinical records with sophisticated solutions for taking clinical infommtion at the point of care.

A system architecture for fault tolerance in concurrent software

A system architecture called the recovery metaprogram (RMP) is proposed. It separates the application from the recovery software, giving programmers a single environment that lets them use the most appropriate fault-tolerance scheme. To simplify the presentation of the RMP approach, it is assumed that the fault model is limited to faults originating in the application software, and that the hardware and kernel layers can mask their own faults from the RMP. Also, relationships between backward and forward error recovery are not considered. Some RMP examples are given, and a particular RMP implementation is described.<<ETX>>

AOP for software evolution: a design oriented approach

In this paper, we have briefly explored the aspect-oriented approach as a tool for supporting the software evolution. The aim of this analysis is to highlight the potentiality and the limits of the aspect-oriented development for software evolution. From our analysis follows that in general (and in particular for AspectJ) the approach to join points, pointcuts and advices definition are not enough intuitive, abstract and expressive to support all the requirements for carrying out the software evolution. We have also examined how a mechanism for specifying pointcuts and advices based on design information, in particular on the use of UML diagrams, can better support the software evolution through aspect oriented programming. Our analysis and proposal are presented through an example.

Reflective authorization systems: possibilities, benefits, and drawbacks

We analyze how to use the reflective approach to integrate an authorization system into a distributed object-oriented framework. The expected benefits from the reflective approach are: more stability of the security layer (i.e., with a more limited number of hidden bugs), better software and development modularity, more reusability, and the possibility to adapt the security module with at most a few changes to other applications. Our analysis is supported by simple and illustrative examples written in Java.

Investigative analysis across documents and drawings: visual analytics for archaeologists

With the invention and rapid improvement of data-capturing devices, such as satellite imagery and digital cameras, the information that archaeologists must manage in their everydays activities has rapidly grown in complexity and amount. In this work we present Indiana Finder, an interactive visualization system that supports archaeologists in the examination of large repositories of documents and drawings. In particular, the system provides visual analytic support for investigative analysis such as the interpretation of new archaeological findings, the detection of interpretation anomalies, and the discovery of new insights. We illustrate the potential of Indiana Finder in the context of the digital protection and conservation of rock art natural and cultural heritage sites. In this domain, Indiana Finder provides an integrated environment that archaeologists can exploit to investigate, discover, and learn from textual documents, pictures, and drawings related to rock carvings. This goal is accomplished through novel visualization methods including visual similarity ring charts that may help archaeologists in the hard task of dating a symbol in a rock engraving based on its shape and on the surrounding symbols.

RAMSES: A Mobile Computing System for Field Archaeology

RAMSES (Remote Archeological Mobile Support Enhanced System) is an outdoor application of mobile computing to field archaeology, whose prototype has already been field tested in Summer 1998 at the site of Poliochni in Greece. The requirements for both hardware and software are illustrated; the system is composed by a fixed station, acting as object repository, and a few mobile units which input archaeological evidence by means of electromagnetic pen. The software components on both fixed and mobile systems and their interaction are described as well.

Channel reification: a reflective model for distributed computation

The paper presents a new reflective model, called Channel Reification, which can be used in distributed computations to overcome difficulties experienced by other models in the literature when monitoring communication among objects. The channel is an extension of the message reification model. A channel is a communication manager incarnating successive messages exchanges by two objects: its application ranges between those of message reification and those of meta object model. After a brief review of existing reflective models and how reflections can be used in distributed systems, channel reification is presented and compared to the widely used meta object model. Applications of channel reification to protocol implementation, and to fault tolerant object systems are shown. Future extensions to this model are also summarized.

A System Architecture for Software Fault Tolerance

The paper describes a system architecture, based on virtual machine layers, which can be used in the implementation of software fault tolerant systems. The top layer of such hierarchy details recovery actions; various policies such as conversations, N-Modularity, Programmer Transparent Coordination, Resilient Procedures and Optimistic Recovery are shown to be implementable within this framework.

Using different language levels for implementing fault-tolerant programs

Abstract The paper illustrates a methodology to develop fault tolerant application software in two different programming layers. The advantages of this approach are: higher protection between application and recovery programs, application-independence, application transparency and maximum use of the underlying hardware architectural features. Some implementative issues are presented as well in the paper.

Information, knowledge and interoperability for healthcare domain

New technologies have improved the ability of electronically storing, transferring and sharing medical data; they also create serious questions about who has access to this cross-media content and how it is protected and distributed. Our aim is to support healthcare professionals in this changing environment, by providing a set of software tools that help reducing the time and associated costs to collect the information and knowledge required, and in making the best use of it for a more informed decision making (diagnoses, therapies, protocols). An appropriate and consistent level of information security consists of protecting information both in written, spoken, electronically recorded, or printed form from accidental or malicious modification, destruction, or disclosure by applying the strictest requirements for data security and privacy and complying with ethical standards. By Doc@Hand project we experiment the distribution of computer-based patient record, natural language queries and the contained knowledge in a secured way.