Michal Iglewski

Precise documentation of well-structured programs

Describes a new form of program documentation that is precise, systematic and readable. This documentation comprises a set of displays supplemented by a lexicon and an index. Each display presents a program fragment in such a way that its correctness can be examined without looking at any other display. Each display has three parts: (1) the specification of the program presented in the display, (2) the program itself, and (3) the specifications of programs invoked by this program. The displays are intended to be used by software engineers as a reference document during inspection and maintenance. This paper also introduces a specification technique that is a refinement of H.D. Millss (1975) functional approach to program documentation and verification; programs are specified and described in tabular form. >

C++2MPI: a software tool for automatically generating MPI datatypes from C++ classes

The Message Passing Interface I.I (MPI I.I) standard defines a library of message-passing functions for parallel and distributed computing. We have developed a new software tool called C++2MPI which can automatically generate MPI derived datatypes for a specified C++ class. C++2MPI can generate data types for derived classes, for partially and fully-specialized templated classes, and for classes with private data members. Given one or more user-provided classes as input, C++2MPI generates, compiles and archives a function for creating the MPI derived datatype. When the generated function is executed, it builds the derived MPI datatype if the datatype does not already exist, and returns the value of an MPI handle for referencing the datatype. PGMT (Processing Graph Method Tool) is a set of application program interfaces for porting the Processing Graph Method (PGM), a parallel programming method, to diverse networks of processors. C++2MPI was developed as a component of PGMT, but can be used as a stand-alone tool.

Functional approach to protocols specification

This paper investigates the applicability of the functional documentation approach, and in particular the trace assertion method, to specification of modern communication systems. As an example a class of communication protocols known as sliding window protocols was chosen.

Trace Specifications of Non-Deterministic Multi-Object Modules

The Trace Assertion Method (in short: TAM) is a formal method for abstract specification of interfaces of software modules being designed according to the “information hiding” principle. A trace specification is a “black-box” specification, i.e., it describes only those features of a module that are externally observable. The method was introduced by W. Bartusek and D.L. Parnas some 15 years ago and since then has undergone many modifications. In recent years there has been an increased interest in TAM. Software tools supporting practical usage of TAM for software engineering projects are under development, the method is being tested on different applications, its foundations are being studied.

Internal design of modules specified in the trace assertion method

Abstract A software module may be described precisely and completely by a set of related documents: interface specification of the module providing a “black-box” description of its behavior, internal design of the module containing its “clear-box” description, and the code itself. A special formalism is needed in each of these documents. We use the trace assertion method for specification of module interfaces, and LD-relations to specify behavior of individual programs within a module. The main purpose of our research was to formulate rules and clarify issues relating to the internal design of modules specified using the trace assertion method. Our interests emerged from participation in a broader project aimed at implementation of an integrated set of syntax-driven editors supporting the system documentation process. Many practical problems of the documentation methodology involved were recognized, and solutions were proposed and verified. In this paper we summarize our experience. Appendices contain the complete set of documents for sample modules.

Software Engineering Issues Emerged from Critical Control Applications

Abstract This paper describes a software engineering project which evolved from certain critical control applications. Its goal is to improve a professional practice in the design and implementation of safe, reliable computer systems. This is to be achieved by development of a proper methodology together with supporting software tools. Since this methodology is addressed to practitioners, it must be not “too academic” but at the same time theoretically sound.