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An Experimental Study Of The Effects Of Modularity On Resource Consumption In Software Development, Alan D. Christiansen, Arlan R. Dekock, John Bruce Prater

Computer Science Technical Reports

Many authors have encouraged the use of modular programming techniques in software development. In fact, there is almost total agreement within industrial and academic circles that modularity is a desirable feature of any software package. Unfortunately, the desirability of modular design is almost always voiced without support from experimental evidence.

This paper consists of an experiment comparing the resource consumption of programmers based on the modularity practices employed during the design and programming phases of software development. The experiment tests the effectiveness of modularity in reducing psychological complexity of software.

The results of the research show that in some cases …

Learning Computer Logic Architectures On Apple Ii System, Falah Reda Al-Saffar

Masters Theses

For this thesis seven computer-assisted instruction packages have been designed to illustrate the design of electronic circuits of gates , the logic of combinational and sequential circuits, and integrated and magnetic core memories.

The programs in these packages have been written in the Pascal computer language on an Apple II microcomputer and stored on a double-sided floppy disk.

Rediflow Multiprocessing, Robert M. Keller, Frank C. H. Lin, Jiro Tanaka

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

We discuss the concepts underlying Rediflow, a multiprocessing system being designed to support concurrent programming through a hybrid model of reduction, dataflow, and von Neumann processes. The techniques of automatic load-balancing in Rediflow are described in some detail.

Simple On The Chip, D. Gannon, J. Panetta

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Parallelism In The Language, Natural, Thomas J. Sager

Computer Science Technical Reports

Natural is a language designed to provide a vehicle for the expression of abstract programming concepts clearly and precisely in a natural and mathematical form. The concept of parallelism can be expressed both explicitly and implicitly in the language, Natural. Due to relative freedom from side-effects and the use of a special value, undef, subexpressions can often be evaluated in parallel. The for and do statements both allow for a parallel mode of execution. A builtin functional, prlleval, creates functions which can evaluate their arguements in a parallel mode. In addition, the concept of module allows for the definition of …

On Monotone Formulae With Restricted Depth, Maria M. Klawe, Wolfgang J. Paul, Nicholas J. Pippenger, Mihalis Yannakakis

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

We prove a hierarchy theorem for the representation of monotone Boolean functions by monotone Boolean functions by monotone formulae with restricted depth. Specifically, we show that there are functions with Π_k-formulae of size n for which every Σ_k-formula has size exp Ω(n^1/(k-1)). A similar lower bound applies to concrete functions such as transitive closure and clique. We also show that any function with a formula of size n (and any depth) has a Σ_k-formula of size exp O(n^1/(k-1)). Thus our hierarchy theorem is the best possible.

Consistency Testing For Data-Flow Circuits, Chu S. Jhon, Robert M. Keller

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

One means of making VLSI design tractable is to proceed from a high-level specification of a circuit in terms of functionality, to the circuit level. A notable error which may occur in a topdown design starting with a data-flow graph representation of a circuit is a design inconsistency due to deadlock. This paper attempts to further develop the theoretical basis for algorithms which analyze the deadlock property of circuits on the basis of their data-flow graph representations. A systematic scheme to verify the absence of deadlock in data-flow graphs is also presented.

A Graphical Representation Of An Executing Program, Sherry A. Lile

Masters Theses

"This thesis describes the rationale for a computer program used as a teaching aid, as well as, the design, development, and implementation of that computer program. The program is a prototype that displays, line by line, a graphical depiction of a BASIC program being executed. Icons are used to represent FOR-NEXT loops, the contents of variables, I/O, and other programming elements. The internal logic associated with the Arithmetic-Logic Unit is also represented. The purpose is to produce an environment where the student may visualize the processes occurring in memory by viewing a symbolic portrayal of an executing program. The example …

The Design And Implementation Of The Programming Language Natural, Alan L. Sparks

Masters Theses

"This paper reports progress on the development of the programming language Natural, currently under design by Dr. Thomas J. Sager at the University of Missouri--Rolla. Natural is a very high-level language with a mathematical flavor, and includes several concepts relatively uncommon in programming language design.

The text also discusses an implementation on the IBM Personal Computer of Mini-Natural, a subset of Natural, and presents examples of programs written in Mini-Natural"--Abstract, page ii.

Program Modeling And Control Synthesis For Robotic Manipulators, Ramiz Najib Ballou

Masters Theses

"The control and programming methodology of industrial robots is becoming increasingly important. The speed and accuracy of data generation, and the performance of the robot are considered the most important factors in robotics control.

This paper presents and discusses algorithms that solve for the inverse solution for a given point in space at a very high speed based on the top down abstract method. The algorithms are independent of any specific type of manipulator configuration or programming language. The algorithms were implemented or the IBM-PC using the FORTRAN language to control the Armdroid robot. The program generates 500 sets of …

Characterizing The Lsi Yield Equation From Wafer Test Data, Sharad C. Seth, Vishwani D. Agrawal

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

The results of production test on LSI wafers are analyzed to determine the parameters of the yield equation. Recognizing that a physical defect on a chip can produce several logical faults, the number of faults per defect is assumed to be a random variable with Poisson distribution. The analysis provides a relationship between the yield of the tested fraction of -the chip area and the cumulative fault coverage of test patterns. The parameters of the yield equation are estimated by fitting this relation to the measured yield versus fault coverage data.

Survey Of Routing Algorithms For Computer Networks, Lu Yu

Masters Theses

"This thesis gives a general discussion of routing for computer networks, followed by an overview of a number of typical routing algorithms used or reported in the past few years. Attention is mainly focused on distributed adaptive routing algorithms for packet switching (or message switching) networks. Algorithms for major commercial networks (or network architectures) are reviewed as well, for the convenience of comparison"--Abstract, page ii.

Incompleteness, Negation, Hazard: On The Precariousness Of Systems, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

An account is offered of the dialectical tensions which afflict systems of widely differing type, "contradictions" which cannot be fully or permanently resolved, and from which follow the lawfulness of both hazard and opportunity.

An Experimental Study Of The Effects Of Modularity On Resource Consumption In Software Development, Alan D. Christiansen

Masters Theses

"Many authors have encouraged the use of modular programming techniques in software development. In fact, there is almost total agreement within industrial and academic circles that modularity is a desirable feature of any software package. Unfortunately, the desirability of modular design is almost always voiced without support from experimental evidence.

This thesis consists of an experiment comparing the resource consumption of programmers based on the modularity practices employed during the design and programming phases of software development. The experiment tests the effectiveness of modularity in reducing psychological complexity of software.

The results of the research show that in some cases …

A Simple Method For Organizing Nearly Optimal Binary Search Trees, Joy L. Henderson

Masters Theses

"Improving the efficiency of retrieving information concerns users of computer systems involved in many applications- One way of addressing this concern is to organize a sorted sequence into a binary search tree. Knuth's Algorithm K is a bottom-up organization algorithm that always constructs a binary tree which minimizes average search time. However, the cost of executing Algorithm K is prohibitive for a large tree. The aim of this work is to find a less costly method of organizing sorted sequences into nearly-optimal binary search trees.

We present a top-down organization method which yields better average search times than top-down methods …

Specification Of Synchronizing Processes, Krithivasan Ramamritham, Robert M. Keller

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

The formalism of temporal logic has been suggested to be an appropriate tool for expressing the semantics of concurrent programs. This paper is concerned with the application of temporal logic to the specification of factors affecting the synchronization of concurrent processes. Towards this end, we first introduce a model for synchronization and axiomatize its behavior. SYSL, a very high-level language for specifying synchronization properties, is then described. It is designed using the primitives of temporal logic and features constructs to express properties that affect synchronization in a fairly natural and modular fashion. Since the statements in the language have intuitive …

Ua66/10/2 Newsletter, Wku Mathematics

WKU Administration Documents

Newsletter created by and about the WKU Mathematics department.

The Proposed Darpa Ip-To-X.25 Interface Standard: Performance Optimization With Multiple Circuits, Douglas E. Comer, John T. Korb

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

A Polynomial-Time Algorithm For The Topological Type Of A Real Algebraic Curve, Dennis S. Arnon, Scott Mccallum

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Minimizing Contact Points And Using Overlap On Two Layers, Susanne E. Hambrusch

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Optimal Routing In The Cube-Connected Cycles Interconnection Network, Daniel A. Reed

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

A Simulation Study Of Multimicrocomputer Networks, Daniel A. Reed

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Stork: An Experimental Migrating File System For Computer Networks, Jehan-Francois Paris, Walter F. Tichy

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

An Analytical Model For Evaluating Database Update Schemes, Kathryn C. Kinsley

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

A methodology is presented for evaluating the performance of database update schemes. The methodology uses the M/Hr/1 queueing model as a basis for this analysis and makes use of the history of how data is used in the database. Parameters have been introduced which can be set based on the characteristics of a specific system. These include update to retrieval ratio, average file size, overhead, block size and the expected number of items in the database. The analysis is specifically directed toward the support of derived data within the relational model. Three support methods are analyzed. These are first examined …

Computer Information Systems Bachelor's Degree Programs To Advance Your Career 1983-1984, Nova University

College of Engineering and Computing Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Computer Science Master's Degree Programs To Advance Your Career 1983-1984, Nova University

College of Engineering and Computing Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Some Design Considerations For Picture Archiving And Communication Systems, J. R. Cox, G. J. Blaine, R. L. Hill, R. G. Jost, C. D. Shum

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

Design considerations for picture archiving and communication systems are reviewed with special emphasis on those issues that differ from conventional network architectures. Design equations for three layers of a picture network are developed and discussed in the context of preliminary estimates of the flow of digital images between a multiplicity of picture sources, picture archives and picture viewing stations. Discussions of differences from conventional networks focuses on the local nature of the net, the availability of a wide-band transmission media with low error rates, the relative costliness of network equipment capable of taking advantage of the wide-band transmission media and …

Modeling Multimicrocomputer Networks, Daniel A. Reed

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Interface Issues In A Software Parts Technology, John R. Rice, Herbert D. Schwetman

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

The String-To-String Correction Problem With Block Moves, Walter F. Tichy

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.