Forum for Academic Software Engineering Volume 4, Number 9, Fri Apr 15 12:46:09 CDT 1994 Topics: Re: Niklaus Wirth and run-on names FASE Materials now available through ftp, www FASE Back Issues by ftp, www Killer Robot--Scenario for Teaching Ethics Membership in TCSE, Education Newsletter, Submissions IEEE Technical Segment Committee on ECCS A------------------------------------------------------- From: Ralph Johnson Subject: Re: Niklaus Wirth and run-on names I think Niklaus Wirth got the idea of using capitals to separate words from Xerox PARC, where it was used around 1970 or so. I don't know where they got it. But it seems a natural idea, and I'm skeptical of attributing it to computer scientists, though not as skeptical as I am of your message about the president banning software engineering. BTW, one of our faculty rebroadcast it locally with a worried tone to his e-mail message. -Ralph A------------------------------------------------------- From: Keith Pierce Subject: FASE Materials now available through ftp, www Dave Eichmann, University of Houstan-Clear Lake, has graciously volunteered to set up an electronic archive for FASE materials. The archive is available by anonymous ftp at ricis.cl.uh.edu. The top-level directory for the archive is pub/FASE. The first article below tells beginners how to retrieve information by ftp. The archive contains two subdirectories FASE-Issues: back issues of FASE Killer-robot: Ethics scenario The contents of these subdirectories are described later in this newsletter. These files are also accessible through World-Wide Web (www) at the URL http://ricis.cl.uh.edu/FASE/ Many thanks to Dave Eichmann for volunteering to set this up. A------------------------------------------------------- From: Keith Pierce Subject: FASE Back Issues by ftp, www You can obtain back issues of FASE through anonymous ftp on host ricis.cl.uh.edu (129.7.160.6) in pub/FASE/FASE-Issues. If you're not sure how to retrieve files using ftp, mimic the sample session below. In order for this to work, ftp software must be installed on your local computing system. Check with your system administrator if you're not sure. This is a sample session in a UNIX environment. "%" is your local system prompt. Underlined information is what you type. I've connected to the remote host, listed the contents of directory /pub/FASE and the subdirectory /pub/FASE/FASE-Issues, and then retrieved the latest issue. At the end of the session, you will have a copy of the issue in your current working directory. 1 % ftp ricis.cl.uh.edu ------------------- Connected to ricis.cl.uh.edu. 220 rbse FTP server (SunOS 4.1) ready. Name (ricis.cl.uh.edu:kpierce): anonymous --------- 331 Guest login ok, send ident as password. Password: kpierce@d.umn.edu [use your own internet address] ----------------- 230 Guest login ok, access restrictions apply. ftp> cd pub/FASE ----------- 250 CWD command successful. ftp> ls -- 200 PORT command successful. 150 ASCII data connection for /bin/ls (131.212.41.29,1712) (0 bytes). FASE-Issues Killer-robot 226 ASCII Transfer complete. 27 bytes received in 0.0025 seconds (10 Kbytes/s) ftp> cd FASE-Issues -------------- 250 CWD command successful. ftp> ls -- 200 PORT command successful. 150 ASCII data connection for /bin/ls (131.212.41.29,1713) (0 bytes). fase_v1_n01 fase_v2_n01 [...lines deleted...] fase_v4_n07 fase_v4_n08 226 ASCII Transfer complete. 338 bytes received in 0.019 seconds (17 Kbytes/s) ftp> get fase_v4_n08 --------------- 200 PORT command successful. 150 ASCII data connection for fase_v4_n08 (131.212.41.29,1714) (24071 bytes). 226 ASCII Transfer complete. local: fase_v4_n08 remote: fase_v4_n08 24622 bytes received in 3.1 seconds (7.8 Kbytes/s) ftp> bye --- 221 Goodbye. 2 % You can also access back issues through World-Wide Web (WWW) vi the URL ftp://ricis.cl.uh.edu/pub/FASE/FASE_Issues You must have client software such as mosaic or lynx in order to access the information via www. Ask your system administrator. This repository was set up by David Eichmann, Assistant Professor at University of Houston-Clear Lake and Director of Research and Development at RBSE (eichmann@rbse.jsc.nasa.gov). Many thanks for your efforts, Dave. A------------------------------------------------------- From: epstein@golden.wcupa.edu (Richard G. Epstein) Subject: Killer Robot--Scenario for Teaching Ethics THE CASE OF THE KILLER ROBOT The Case of the Killer Robot is a detailed scenario which combines elements of software engineering and computer ethics. It can be used as a means of introducing computer ethics into a software engineering course. It can also be used earlier and elsewhere in the curriculum to acquaint students with the complexities of software development. The scenario consists of articles which discuss specific issues in software engineering and computer ethics. The articles discuss topics such as programmer psychology, team dynamics, user interfaces, software process models, software testing, the nature of requirements, software theft, privacy and so forth. A major consideration is "when is the software good enough?" The articles in the scenario begin with the indictment of a programmer for manslaughter. This programmer wrote faulty code that caused the death of a robot operator. Slowly, over the course of many articles, the students are introduced to factors within the corporation which also contributed to the accident. Students (hopefully) begin to realize the complexity of the task of building real-world software and they begin to see some of the ethical issues intertwined in all of that complexity. They are shown software development as a social process. The scenario is non-trivial in length and is about 70 pages long. There is some tongue-in-cheek humor in this scenario. The following article describes the scenario in more detail, describes the philosophy behind the design of such computer ethics scenarios, and suggests how they can be used in other courses in the undergraduate curriculum: Richard G. Epstein. "The use of computer ethics scenarios in software engineering education: the case of the killer robot." Software Engineering Education: Proceedings of the 7th SEI CSEE Conference, San Antonio. Jorge L. Diaz-Herrera, editor. Lecture Notes in Computer Science 750. Springer-Verlag 1994. pp 429-440. You can retrieve an electronic copy of the articles by anonymous ftp at the FASE repository, ricis.cl.uh.edu, in directory pub/FASE/Killer-robot. [ED: see previous article for ftp instructions] If you use this in your classes, please let me know how it went. The scenario consists of an introduction and 9 articles: introduction: Introduction, cast of characters article-1: Silicon Valley programmer indicted for manslaughter article-2: Developers of 'Killer Robot' worked under enormous stress article-3: 'Killer Robot' programmer was prima donna, co-workers claim article-4: 'Killer Robot' project mired in controversy right from start article-5: Silicon Techtronics promised to deliver a safe robot article-6: The 'Killer Robot' interface article-7: Software Engineer challenges authenticity of 'Killer Robot' software tests article-8: Silicon Techtronics employee admits faking software tests article-9: A conversation with Dr. Harry Yoder killer-robot.txt: The whole thing The articles are in plain-text format. The files article-[1-9].txt and introduction.txt contain the articles and introduction, respectively. For convenience, all articles and the introduction are merged into one file killer-robot.txt. In the future, word-processed and/or postscript versions will appear. Richard G. Epstein West Chester University of PA West Chester, PA 19383 epstein@golden.wcupa.edu A------------------------------------------------------- From: Keith Pierce Subject: Membership in TCSE, Education Newsletter, Submissions [ED: gleaned from TCSE publications and Annual Report] A constituent part of the IEEE, the Technical Committee on Software Engineering (TCSE) provides a forum for exchange of ideas among those in the software engineering field. It promotes the sharing of ideas through sponsored workshops, conferences and other meetings. It publishes newsletters and other material, provides professional development opportunities, and cooperates with other groups in joint activities and projects. TCSE has a membership of over 7000 from around the world. TCSE comprises several subcommittees representing special interests withing software engineering. Last March, TCSE added a new subcommittee on software engineering education. TCSE's main unifying activity is the TCSE Newsletter, published three times a year. Starting with September's issue, the newsletter will devote 4 pages to software engineering education. This column will cover many of the same topics as FASE: Course Descriptions Books and Paper Reviews Teaching Materials Upcoming Workshops and Committee Meetings Women/Minority Student Retension Issues in Software Engineering Programs Project Sources Ethical Issues Software Engineering as a Profession You are invited to join TCSE by filling out the following form and emailing it to tcse@computer.org. At this time, there are no dues or fees to belong to TCSE, and you do not have to be an IEEE or Computer Society member. However, non-CS or IEEE members are not able to receive newsletters without charge. You are also invited to contribute to the education column. As editor of this new column, I'll summarize FASE submissions in the column, and would be delighted to receive additional contributions of interest to software engineering educators. Let me know if you've checked the "help with newsletter" box below. Please enroll me in TCSE and the checked subcommittees. Name: Title: Company: Mail Address: City: State: Zip: Country: email: office phone: home phone: fax: IEEE member # or IEEE/CS # Member/Senior Member/Fellow? Please include me as a member of these subcommittees/task forces: __ Standards (SESC) __ Reverse Engineering __ Software Reliability Engineering __ Technology Transfer __ Reusability (ReNews) (Requires email) __ Quantitative Methods __ Software Process XX Software Engineering Education __ Task Force on Software Engineering Profession __ Task Force on Engineering of Computer-Based Systems (ECBS) I am interested in helping with __ Newsletters __ Membership __ Conferences Return your completed form to tcse@computer.org A------------------------------------------------------- From: ieee-tsc-eccs-request@cl.cam.ac.uk Subject: IEEE Technical Segment Committee on ECCS The following is an announcement for the recently-established IEEE Technical Segment Committee on Engineering of Complex Computer Systems (IEEE TSC-ECCS) which we hope will be of interest to you. If not, then please accept our apologies in advance. We would be grateful if you would kindly forward the announcement to any colleagues whom you think may be interested. Thank you. You may receive more than one copy of this announcement via various distribution lists, etc. We apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause. You will not receive any further messages relating to the TSC however unless you subscribe to the assocated newsletter (information on how to subscribe is given below). IEEE Technical Segment Committee on Engineering of Complex Computer Systems 1. Volunteers. Bill Buckles Paul Drongowski Carlo Ghezzi Prabha Gopinath Wolfgang Halang Dieter Hammer Robert Harrison Mike Hinchey Floyd Hollister Julian Holtzman Steven Howell Tadao Ichikawa E. Douglas Jensen Lieuwe de Jong Phillip Laplante Harold Lawson Bonnie Melhart Leo Motus Mauro Pezze Viktor Prasanna Juan de la Puente Mike Rodd Bruce Shriver Jack Stankovic Hartwig Steusloff Alex Stoyenko (Chair) Anneliese von Mayrhauser Stephanie White Janusz Zalewski 2. Technical Background. As demands on functional and non-functional objectives of computer systems have continued unabated for the last 30-years, so has the size of the resultant systems. They have become extremely large, consisting of scores of distributed and parallel software, hardware, and communications components. In addition, they increasingly interface with a large number of external devices, such as sensors and actuators. Large (and certain small) systems also tend to be complex because of the number of interconnections between their components tends to be large and complicated. As users are placing increasing importance on such non-functional objectives as availability, fault-tolerance, security, safety, and traceability, the operation of a complex computer system is also required to be ``non-stop'', ``real-time'', adaptable, and dependable in a graceful degradation sense. It is typical that components of such systems evolve over time, that their logical and physical interconnections change, and that the operational semantics of the system change accordingly, often leading to increased system complexity. We thus define the engineering of complex computer systems as all activities pertinent to specifying, designing, prototyping, building, testing, operating, maintaining, and evolving of complex computer systems. While in the past, relatively non-complex ``traditional'' systems sufficed for most computer control applications, the new and emerging demands of applications and the evolution of computer architectures and networks now essentially ``force'' systems to be complex, given our current understanding how to engineer these systems. Complex computer systems are found in almost every industry. These include industrial process control, aerospace and defense, transportation and communications, energy and utilities, medical and health, commercial data processing, and others. Unfortunately, the current state-of-the-art in research and technology has clearly fallen far behind the requirements of industrial and commercial complex computer systems. 3. Purpose. The IEEE Computer Society created the Technical Segment Committee on Engineering of Complex Computer Systems (TSC on ECCS) in November 1993. The TSC on ECCS is endorsed by the Technical Committees on Distributed Processing, Parallel Processing, Real-Time Systems, Security and Privacy, Software Engineering and Multimedia Computing, the Task Force on Engineering of Computer-Based Systems. The TSC on ECCS is also endorsed by GI/GMA Technical Committee on Real-Time Systems, IFAC COMPUT and its six related Technical Committees, and various industrial and government organizations. Responding to a strong need and significant interest from a number of international communities of practitioners, engineers and academics in ECCS-related products and services, TSC on ECCS serves to give leadership to the development and on-going monitoring of a set of appropriate IEEE CS activities (conferences, tutorials, publications, periodicals, curricula and standards) to strengthen the society itself and, to have a significant and lasting effect on international industrial and government decision-making in the engineering of complex computer systems. 4. Current Activities. The TSC on ECCS has already initiated a number of efforts in the ECCS area. Two Education Subcommittees (Academic Education, and Industrial and Continuing Education) have started. These two Subcommittees will work to define and facilitate curricula, materials and publications to provide adequate ECCS educational means for engineering and computer science students and professionals. Work is under way on a new annual IEEE conference --- the International Conference on Engineering of Complex Computer Systems. The first conference is planned for November 1995 and will take place in Florida, USA. The second conference will take place in the greater Mediterrean part of Europe/Middle East, in November 1996. The ICECCS conference series will be particularly receptive to new research, technology and product activities of interest to practitioners, engineers and academics in the ECCS area. The TSC on ECCS seeks to fascilitate special issues of existing periodicals, tutorial publications and other publications in the ECCS area. A newsletter, circulated electronically and by mail, has been started; to receive the newsletter electronically, send e-mail to , with "subscribe" in the subject field. To receive the newsletter by postal mail, send your name and full mailing address to: Mike Hinchey University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory New Museums Site Pembroke Street Cambridge CB2 3QG England +44-223-334419 (direct) 334678 (fax) E-mail: Mike.Hinchey@cl.cam.ac.uk 5. Invitation to New Volunteers and Interested Parties. The TSC on ECCS wants to hear from anyone and everyone with an interest in this exciting technical area, or in any of the listed activities. All such parties are cordially invited to contact the TSC on ECCS chair at the following address: Prof. Alexander Stoyenko Real-Time Computing Laboratory Computer & Information Science New Jersey Institute of Technology University Heights Newark, New Jersey 07102 USA (201) 596-3366 (office) (201) 596-5777 (fax) E-mail: alex@vulcan.njit.edu E------------------------------------------------------------------- FASE Volume 4 Number 9 Send newsletter articles to fase-submit@d.umn.edu Send requests to add, delete, or modify a subscription to fase-request@d.umn.edu Send problem reports, returned mail, or other correspondence about this newsletter to fase-owner@d.umn.edu or fase@d.umn.edu or kpierce@d.umn.edu Keith Pierce, Editor Laurie Werth, Advisory Committee Department of Computer Science Dept. of Computer Science University of Minnesota, Duluth Taylor Hall 2.124 Duluth, MN 55812-2496 University of Texas at Austin Telephone: (218) 726-7194 Austin, Texas 78712 Fax: (218) 726-6360 Telephone: (512) 471-9535 Email: kpierce@d.umn.edu Fax: (512)471-8885 Email: lwerth@cs.utexas.edu