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SIGDOC Newsletter
March 2005
:: Volume 6, Number 1
Interesting Items
You can find a nice list of interesting articles at ACM
Technews.
"Cracking
Software Development Complexity"
Software complexity continues to increase faster than Moore's Law,
meaning that programmers will be unable to write and manage code without
rethinking
how to create programs, writes Partech's Nicolas El Baze. A number
of companies are addressing this issue and moving toward model-based
frameworks that will allow non-expert employees to rapidly execute
new and complex tasks. Language provides a good metaphor for the
type of models that are needed to deal with increasing software complexity:
children develop a linguistic model that lets them quickly input
and
use new words; similarly, a model-driven approach would not only
provide visual abstraction of programming tasks, but actually provide
reusable
intelligence and be context-aware. Ideally, programmers would simply
enter data, parameters, concepts, and goals to automatically produce
working code. Some companies are already pursuing codeless development
for specific functions, signaling a shift of intellectual property
value from the code itself to the models with reusable intelligence.
A model-driven approach to software creation could also help with
enterprise application integration, especially as these models are made
context-aware
through use of semantic and ontology-based technologies; this framework
would also have to deal with new distributed applications such as
J2EE and .NET applications. Model-driven software development will not
be
developed in a short time, but will require hard scientific research
similar to how the DNA mapping process was uncovered and is even
still being transformed into an actionable model. back to top "Eclipse
Lights Up Java Crowd"
The Eclipse software development project has signed on BEA Systems,
Sybase, and Borland International as board members, solidifying the
open source
platform's role as the leading source of innovation for Java tools.
Less than one year ago, IBM rivals painted Eclipse as a Trojan horse
meant to promote IBM software products, but since then the effort has
become a unifying force. "There's the economic interest among
all the vendors to drop their costs of creating new toolsets," says
JBoss vice president Bob Bickel. Eclipse now counts most of the major
software companies among its 91 members, and produces the most popular
Java development tool, the Eclipse Platform; the software mimics Microsoft's
Visual Studio in that it combines different tools and plug-ins behind
a common front-end. Eclipse's success is also based on its open source
and vendor-backed model, as opposed to both proprietary efforts and
standardization efforts. Eclipse executive director Mike Milinkovich
says vendor membership helps speed Eclipse software development when
coupled with open source protections; innovation occurring in open
source eventually leads to standardization, whereas standards efforts
occurring at the same time as innovation is muddled, he says. BEA Systems
CEO Alfred Chuang says the Java Community Process standards body was
too slow, and that Eclipse's speed was one reason the company joined.
Eclipse is also pushing other software development projects such as
the Web Tools Platform Project, the Business Intelligence and Reporting
Tools toolkit, and a tool for creating rich-client graphical front-ends
in Java. back to top
"Poll:
U.S. Has Conservative Tack on Innovation"
An A.T. Kearney survey of over 300 technology executives finds a prevailing
conservative attitude toward innovation that chiefly emphasizes existing
services and products, even though executives consider innovation to
be critical to sustaining competitiveness. A.T. Kearney's John Ciachella
reports that 90 percent of respondents are aware of "major changes" in
the economy, yet "they don't seem to react to them." CEOs
comprised about 60 percent of the respondents, who cited innovations
in products and services as the most important ingredient in tech and
telecom success. But Ciachella says, "the companies' actions--improvement
of existing products, bundling products and service offerings and continuous
investment in research and development--add up to innovation around
the core: around the current offering." He sees the implosion
of the IT bubble of the late 1990s as responsible for this conservatism.
However, Illinois Institute of Technology professor and Doblin President
Larry Keeley says his own experience and his company's diagnostics
hint at a conservatism among U.S. tech companies that is far stronger
than A.T. Kearney's findings indicate; he argues that tech firms' headstrong
emphasis on products excludes other areas where innovation could be
beneficial, such as the customer service experience or the business
model. Keeley attributes the poor level of innovation among U.S. companies
to several factors, including an overabundance of engineers. He thinks
innovation should be something pursued by other kinds of professionals
besides engineers. back to top
"A
Visit to the InfoGraphics Lab"
The University of Oregon's InfoGraphics Lab focuses on the integration
of GIS and graphic design tools with cartographic design. The lab has
three areas of concentration: Public service, such as research and
mapping initiatives for state agencies; support for faculty research;
and campus mapping. Lab project manager Kenneth Kato perceives one
of the Lab's central objectives to be the meshing of the geographic
information system (GIS) data model with cartography; he describes
the facility's campus research as a continuous program rather than
a project, which allows the Lab to constantly hone GIS products and
work on the development of geodatabases. The Lab's residency in the
school's Geography Department allows work with leading-edge technology
and design concepts to proceed while simultaneously conducting research
on new ways to solve problems and passing that knowledge on to students.
The facility manages a single central database and constructs the network
that permits data access by different departments, which manage their
own data in the database. Lab research assistant and developer Erik
Steiner, an expert on interactive mapping and digital presentations,
says his job is to develop interactive digital maps that can be individually
customized. Steiner says his products are "light simulations" or
visualizations designed to reduce large data sets into interactive
presentations. The Lab's cartography element supports a polygon- rather
than line-based design, which facilitated a more accurate update to
the campus map. Building footprints were pieced together from tape
measurement, remote sensing, and digital orthophotography, which Kato
says makes for footprints with far more accuracy. Facilities personnel
maintain CAD files to map out the buildings' interiors, while Lab staffers
perceive rooms as polygons in the GIS that nevertheless perfectly align
with the CAD blueprints. back to top
"Grand
Ambitions"
Institutions and organizations throughout Australia are identifying
and working on grand challenges, which are complex scientific and engineering
problems with wide-ranging societal effects that can only be solved
via high-performance computing. Quantum computing, nanotechnology, "swarm" intelligence,
autonomous systems, grid computing, information management, self-repairing
and reliable systems, and pervasive and ubiquitous computing are just
some of the grand challenges facing Australia, as compiled by Monash
University professor David Green. Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte of the
Australian Center for Field Robotics is focusing on merging machines,
computers, sensor technology, and software into intelligent autonomous
systems in which data is gathered from anywhere and at any time and
wirelessly routed to high-performance computing networks. The data
is then processed and converted into knowledge to improve the guidance
of autonomous systems or people. Durrant-Whyte aims to meet the challenge
of developing computer systems and robots that perform mining operations,
run container terminals, and support the military in the hopes of turning
Sydney into a leading center of intelligent autonomous system research,
development, and commercialization. A grand challenge faced by grid
computing researchers involves developing middleware that integrates
and manages diverse databases to facilitate instantaneous automatic
or semi-automatic accessibility to anyone, notes Australian Partnership
for Advanced Computing executive director John O'Callaghan. Meanwhile,
National ICT Australia chief scientist Brian Anderson expects nanotechnology
advances over the next five years to combine IT and the life sciences,
leading to such breakthroughs as biological processors that can be
implanted within the brain.
back to top "No
More Crash-Test Surgery"
Surgery could enter a new era with patient computer modeling techniques
being developed by Stanford engineer Charles Taylor and collaborators.
An accurate simulation of patients would allow surgeons to predict
how their systems would react to surgical procedures and determine
which surgical approach is the most optimal, which is beyond the capabilities
of the diagnostic tests surgeons currently depend on. Taylor, who is
a surgeon himself, has spent about 10 years compiling medical data
and meshing it with algorithms to model such factors as blood flow
and blood vessel elasticity, with the goal of creating software that
allows surgeons to virtually practice surgery in preparation for actual
operations. "It's the ultimate video game," explains Stanford
pediatric cardiologist and project collaborator Dr. Jeffrey Feinstein. "You
sit down and make a change and you see the results in real time." Taylor's
team is developing the software with the help of the Stanford supercomputer,
which has been used to solve equations that can describe the flow of
blood in any given patient. Taylor declared his success in incorporating
the flexibility of veins and arteries into his simulation of the cardiovascular
system at last week's annual meeting of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science. He predicts that the software will be ready
for practical use within two years. back to top
"Women
Making Strides in IT Sector”
Canada's association of information technology professionals plans
to address the under-representation of women in the IT industry during
its fifth annual "Women in IT: Looking Towards the Future" program.
The series of nine Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS) events
across the country kicks off Feb. 26, 2005, at the University of Alberta,
and runs through April 26, 2005. CIPS says high school girls gain mentors
in women IT professionals. According to an informal survey of 10 universities,
CIPS found that more women are earning computer science degrees, but
the number of graduates is still small and women represent than less
25 percent of the IT workforce. "More than ever, we need to continue
to reach out to young women and show them the benefits of a career
in IT," says CIPS director Pat Gaudet. The Software Human Resource
Council reports that women accounted for 130,593 (22.8 percent) of
Canada's 572,547-member IT workforce in November 2004, down from 25.4
percent in March 2000. "Enrollments in computing related courses
continue to decline in part because students, parents and school counselors
continue to hear discouraging reports about the state of the IT sector
in Canada," states Software Human Resource Council Chair Faye
West.
back to top
"Microsoft
Researchers Use Machine Learning Techniques to Help Advance HIV Vaccine
Research"
Microsoft Research is applying computer science algorithms to HIV
vaccine development at the University of Perth in Australia and the
University
of Washington. The two universities are pursuing related approaches
to developing an HIV vaccine based on specific identifying proteins
called
epitopes; the method addresses two of the most vexing problems about
HIV vaccination--the tremendous diversity of the virus and the variation
of immune system components in human populations. Scientists at the
University of Perth have collected the largest set of HIV samples matched
with different
immune types and are using Microsoft spam-fighting algorithms to help
find patterns correlating HIV epitope evolution and people's specific
immune types. Eventually, the research is expected to yield vaccines
that are tailored to specific populations based on circulating HIV
strains and immune types. University of Perth professor Simon Mallal
says the
research could apply to other types of mutating viruses, such as hepatitis
C. The University of Washington research is searching for ancestral
HIV epitopes that will allow immune systems to identify and kill infected
cells. Microsoft software that is used to condense digital video and
audio files is being applied to libraries of supplemental epitopes
included
in the University of Washington vaccine, reducing the size of the vaccine
models by half. Shortened models mean easier administration of treatment
and lower manufacturing costs for the vaccine, says University of Washington
microbiology professor James Mullins. Microsoft researcher David Heckerman
says the computer science algorithms have surprisingly proven more
accurate when dealing with biological systems than with the computer
science problems
they were originally created for.
back to top
"Thwarting
'Evil Geniuses'"
Blue Water Technologies CEO John Shovic teaches computer-science majors
at Eastern Washington University about cyberthreats and their perpetrators
so that they can shield themselves against such dangers. He teaches
four courses: The first two detail computer network operations, the
deployment of security measures, and the hacking of networks; the second
two courses educate students in malware creation, hacking strategies,
and defensive measures by having them practice information warfare
in a controlled, network-isolated environment. "Before you can
learn to defend, you have to learn how to attack," argues Shovic,
noting that his students attempt to breach computers in a special facility
and learn computer forensics techniques to analyze security exploits
and trace hackers. One exercise involves student teams attempting to
disable each other's systems while simultaneously defending their own
systems. Shovic divides hackers into two varieties: "Script kiddies" who
download software that automates the location and infection of victims,
and "evil geniuses" who craft malware and inflict serious
harm; he says his courses focus on both mentalities, while the advanced
classes primarily concentrate on the second, more damaging kind of
hacker. To shore up against cyberattacks, Shovic recommends that businesses
install internal security policies, such as restrictions on employees
downloading software without supervision; protect networks from the
Internet with firewalls; run and constantly update antivirus software;
regularly update operating systems with patches issued by the manufacturer;
make a greater effort to bolster internal security; and encrypt all
data routed along wireless networks. Shovic says graduates of his courses
have an easy time finding employment, given the desirability of network
security expertise and the current scarcity of training in that area.
back to top
"Meet
Me in Cyberspace"
Online collaboration has taken off with new Web applications that allow
geographically dispersed teams to share information quickly without
leaving their normal work routines. Whereas e-meetings were seen as
solutions for tightened travel budgets a few years ago, they are now
preferred methods for coordinating group projects. New features that
mimic basic meeting functions and add new features not possible with
in-person meetings have hastened e-meeting adoption. Hotel chain Wyndham
International began using an online collaboration solution four years
ago for property management training, but has since expanded use, replacing
weekly and monthly conference calls, for example; rather than talking
over the phone, participants can now view graphics, documents, spreadsheets,
and PowerPoint slides. The e-meeting software also facilitates organized
discussion, which is sometimes difficult in conference calls. Bausch & Lomb
uses collaboration software for its product development teams, and
recouped the entire cost of the software in just one project alone
through saved travel costs. The software provides a common Web workspace
so that team members can immediately access whatever updated files
they need, and the system is entirely Web-based, unlike Wyndham's application,
which requires client software. Office furniture maker Steelcase uses
e-meeting software to speed priority projects with tight deadlines,
says Steelcase CRM team leader Florent Burion. The application provides
instant messaging and voice-over-IP communication, and lets members
work offline so as to save server and network infrastructure resources.
Analyst Peter O'Kelly says, "We're just now seeing the point where
e-meetings are getting on the mainstream radar--where it has become
the norm for facilitating conversations or conferencing, instead of
the exception." back to top Interested in or Work on Developer Documentation or SDKs?
There are few resources for technical writers who wish to document
Software Development Kits (SDKs), the resources that help software developers
create new software and integrate existing software. This research
will present the following results of online surveys and interviews:
- Advice from practitioners on best practices.
- Breakdowns of specific SDK-related tasks performed by practitioners.
- Background knowledge required for each task.
- Specific subject matter
knowledge used for tasks.
If you are interested in or contribute (as a writer, editor, project
manager, or programmer) to this work, and would like to contribute
to this project, please complete the following short survey:
http://webq.catalyst.washington.edu/survey.cgi?user=bottoc&survey=2.
This survey is part of a research project for a graduate student
at the University of Washington's Technical Communication's Department.
For
questions or feedback, please contact bottoc@u.washington.edu.
The goal is to determine best practices for writing programming
documentation and to develop training for technical writers
interested in this area.
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