Software Engineering introduction

Software products

1- Generic software stand-alone systems that are marketed and sold to any customer who wishes to buy them 2- Customized software software that is commissioned by a specific customer to meet their own needs.

general issues that effect most software?

1- Heterogeneity 2- business and social change 3- security and trust

What differences has the web made to software engineering?

1- availability of software services 2- the possibility of developing highly distrusted service-based systems. 3- web based system development has led to important advances in programming languages and software reuse.

what are the key challenges facing software engineering?

1- coping with increasing diversity 2- demands for reduced delivery time 3- developing trust worthy software

What are the fundamental software engineering activities?

1- software specification 2- software development 3- software validation 4- software evolution

What are the application types?

1- stand-alone applications 2- interactive transaction-based applications 3- embedded control system

what is the difference between SE and CS

CS focuses on theory and fundamentals. SE is concerned with the practicalities of developing and delivering a useful software.

Product specifications

Generic software the software specification of what the software should do is owned by the software developer and decisions on software changes are made by the developer. Customized software the specifications on what the software should do is owned the the customer for the software and they make decisions on software changes that are required

all aspects of software production

Not just technical process of development. Also project management and the development of tools, methods etc. to support software production.

what are the costs of software engineering?

Roughly 60% development cost 40% testing costs. for custom software, evolution costs often exceed development cost.

Dependability and Security

Software dependability includes a range of characteristics including reliability, security and safety. Dependable software should not cause physical or economic damage in the event of system failure. Malicious users should not be able to access or damage the system.

Acceptability

Software must be acceptable to the type of users for which it is designed. This means that it must be understandable, usable and compatible with other systems that they use.

Efficiency

Software should not make wasteful use of system resources such as memory and processor cycles. Efficiency therefore includes responsiveness, processing time, memory utilisation, etc.

what is the difference between software engineering and system engineering?

System engineering is concerned with all aspects of computer-based systems development including hardware, software and process engineering. Software engineering is part of this more general process

Stand-alone application

These are application systems that run on a local computer such as a PC. They include all necessary functionality and do not need to be connected to a computer.

Embedded control system

These are software control systems that control and manage hardware devices. Numerically, there are probably more embedded systems than any other type of system.

Engineering discipline

Using appropriate theories and methods to solve problems bearing in mind organizational and financial constraints.

Interactive transaction-based application

application that execute from a remote computer and are accessed by users from their own PC or terminals. These include web applications such as e-commerce applications.

what is software?

computer programs and associated documentation. may be developed for specific customer or for a general market.

what is software engineering?

is an engineering discipline that is concerned with all aspects of software production.

what are the attributes of a good software?

it should deliver the required functionality and performance to the user and should be maintainable, dependable and usable.

Maintainability

software should be written in such away so that it can evolve to meet changing needs of the customer. this is a critical attribute because software change is an inevitable requirement of a changing business environment