SEIC News, Feb. 7, 1997

SEIC News, Feb. 7, 1997

[SEIC]

Software Engineering News Brief
Week Ending:  February 7, 1997

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DISA SELLS POPULAR DII SOFTWARE TO ALLIES
Topic: DII, COE

Software products that comprise the Defense Information Infrastructure 
(DII) are in demand by U.S. military allies and coalition partners.

Canada has bought parts of the Global Command and Control System (GCCS), 
while Japan, Australia and Saudi Arabia are reviewing the GCCS 
components.  Also, the United Kingdom has expressed interest in the 
Defense Department's (DoD) new Common Operating Environment (COE).

To promote these sales and to make sure that foreign systems are 
interoperable with DoD systems, the Defense Information Systems Agency 
(DISA) is beefing up its role in foreign military sales (FMS) of DII 
products.  DISA's director, Lt. Gen. Albert Edmonds, has designated the 
Joint Requirements Analysis and Integration Unit, or D-7, as the point of 
contact for FMS.  

It is predicted that, in addition to GCCS and COE, products for 
information security, the Defense Message System and the Defense 
Information Systems Network will be in demand as well.

SOURCE:  Temin, Thomas, "DII hits international markets," Government 
Computer News, Jan. 27, 1997, v16 n2 p42.  

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SOME THOUGHTS ON THE NRC STUDY
Topic: Ada

On October 31, 1996, the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of 
the National Research Council (NRC) briefed the  results of their study 
"Ada and Beyond:  Software Policies for the Department of Defense." The 
summary recommendations from the briefing were:  Require Ada for DoD 
war-fighting software; Drop Ada requirement for other DoD software; 
Invest $15 million yearly for Ada infrastructure--or drop the Ada 
requirement entirely; Embed programming language decisions into a Software 
Engineering Plan Review Process.

Maj. J.C. Coleman, HQ AFMC, Directorate of Engineering and Technical 
Management, writes that the NRC finding will likely generate some change 
regarding the use of Ada software.  However, when and what these changes 
will be is difficult to estimate.  The Major continues by writing that 
some study clarification will likely be required, such as defining 
"war-fighting software," before any changes occur.  Also, any changes 
will have to be agreed to at the DoD level.  These changes will likely 
balance both acquisition reform and sound software and system engineering 
principles.  Until these changes are made, Ada must be used for Air Force 
software, or a waiver must be obtained.

SOURCE:  Maj. J.C. Coleman, "Current Status and Activities Regarding the 
Use of Ada for Air Force Acquisition Efforts."  Crosstalk.  December 
1996, v9 n12 p7.  

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1997 SYMPOSIUM ON SOFTWARE REUSABILITY (SSR'97)
Topic: Reuse

                          Sponsored by ACM SIGSOFT
                     Back Bay Hilton, 40 Dalton Street
                Boston, Massachusetts, USA --  17-20 May 1997
                     URL: http://www.owego.com/~ssr97/

Co-Located with the 1997 International Conference on Software Engineering,
ICSE-97, 18-23 May 1997.

The Symposium on Software Reusability is ACM's bi-annual forum, held in 
conjunction with the International Conference on Software Engineering 
(ICSE), for the exchange of ideas, research and development results and 
experiences in all aspects of software reusability.  SSR'97 invites you 
to participate in tutorials, keynotes, panels, and all aspects of the 
technical program.

TO REGISTER:  Use the ICSE registration form or register on-site at the 
main ICSE registration desk at the Sheraton (across the street from the
Back Bay Hilton Hotel).

Registration includes joint session with ICSE.

For more information, contact:

Guillermo Arango, Schlumberger WTH Information Tech., 50, Av. Jean 
Jaures, Bat. H, 92541 Montrouge Cedex, France.  Tel: +33 (0) 1 49 65 59 
46; Fax: +33 (0) 1 49 65 59 50; <mailto:arango@montrouge.wireline.slb.com>.

Mehdi T. Harandi, University of Illinois, Dept. of Computer Science, 1304 
W. Springfield Ave., Urbana, IL 61801. Tel: 217/333-4865; Fax: 
217/244-6869; <mailto:harandi@cs.uiuc.edu>.

SOURCE:  Jeffrey Poulin, <mailto:jeffrey.poulin@lmco.com>.

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