From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=0.5 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,TO_NO_BRKTS_PCNT autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: f43e6,304de93ade0dfae0,start X-Google-Attributes: gidf43e6,public X-Google-Thread: 1108a1,304de93ade0dfae0,start X-Google-Attributes: gid1108a1,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,304de93ade0dfae0,start X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: ff6c8,304de93ade0dfae0,start X-Google-Attributes: gidff6c8,public X-Google-Thread: 10db24,304de93ade0dfae0,start X-Google-Attributes: gid10db24,public From: cseic@sw-eng.falls-church.va.us (CFCSEIC) Subject: CFCSEIC News Briefs Week Ending April 17, 1998 Date: 1998/04/17 Message-ID: <6h7t17$pq2@ns1.sw-eng.falls-church.va.us> X-Deja-AN: 345060108 Content-Type: Text/Plain; charset=US-ASCII Organization: Center for Computer Systems Engineering Information Clearinghouse Mime-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada,comp.edu,comp.sw.components,comp.object,comp.software-eng Date: 1998-04-17T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: Center for Computer Systems Engineering News Briefs***DRAFT*** Week Ending: April 17, 1998 ************************************************************************ CONTENTS: IBM ROLLS OUT NEW Y2K TOOLS COMPONENT MANAGEMENT IS A NEED WHOSE TIME HAS COME Y2K BUT HIDDEN IN JAVASCRIPT EDITORIAL MAKES THE CASE FOR USE CASES ************************************************************************ IBM ROLLS OUT NEW Y2K TOOLS Topic: Y2k An article in the April 6th issue of InfoWorld discusses some new tools developed by IBM to help users who are falling behind in their Y2k projects. These new tools are designed to help users attack all phases of in-progress millenium projects, offering relatively quick fixes to Y2k problems. One of the more strategic tools, the Millenium Language Extensions (MLE), is designed to automate date-century windowing. According to IBM officials, the extensions are stitched into the compiler, where they will make changes to the data fields without intruding on the code's logic. A second tool, the Millenium Date Compression Tool (MDCT), can update applications while they run, although some industry observers believe that this technique is both controversial and risky. According to them, MDCT repairs the object code while the application is running, but doesn't repair the source code. One source who is quoted, would not recommend the use of a run-time solution today, but states that by December of next year, this particular solution would work for companies that are going to be forced to take desperate measures. IBM is also introducing a number of other Y2k tools, in addition to the two mentioned above. Source: Ed Scannell, "IBM to ease Y2k headaches", InfoWorld, Apr. 6, 1998, v20, n14 http://www.inquiry.com/pubs/infoworld/1998/issue14/T02-14.html ************************************************************************ COMPONENT MANAGEMENT IS A NEED WHOSE TIME HAS COME Topic: Reuse/Software Engineering According to the author of this article, which appears in the May, 1998, edition of DBMS, component-based development in the middleware world is a hot topic. He believes that server-side components are giving developers a mechanism to create and reuse applications, but they also need an integrated view of the various components distributed on a network, and the ability to manage the life cycles of these components. The author feels that this type of component-based development differs from the traditional object-oriented programming model because it mixes in some distributed objects, and reuses objects by embedding them inside an application. This maintains the components in a server-side environment, allowing developers to mix and match components to acquire new expertise or functionality. Component standards, such as COM/DCOM and CORBA give developers a standard mechanism for linking components together, and extending them to meet the exact needs of an application. In addition, legacy code is being wrapped so that it resembles standard components, and can interact with new client-server applications. While these standards make it possible for components to communicate over a network, they do not provide management layers. Fortunately, a number of client/server and Web application development vendors are developing tools to carry out this task. Source: David S. Linthicum, "Conducting Components: Component Management is a need whose time has come - so get ready.", DBMS, May 1998 http://www.inquiry.com/pubs/dbms/1998/05may98/9805d07.html ************************************************************************ Y2K BUG HIDDEN IN JAVASCRIPT Topic: Y2k/Software Engineering An article in the March 25th issue of Inter@ctiveWeek warns of a hidden problem buried in JavaScript. The problem is not evident, because JavaScript can correctly represent years at the beginning of the next century. According to Netscape, the language will use full, four-digit years, such as 2000 and 2001, at the proper time. But until then, it uses a two-digit year, such as 97 or 98, which the originators of JavaScript thought would be adequate to get the language through the 1990s. JavaScript programmers may be counting on the language to yield the correct year after 1999, but their programs may contain a hidden two-digit date field. When a program returns a four-digit date which can't be loaded into the two-digit field, it will spill the two digits into the next available field, destroying the integrity of the data in the program. If an intranet site uses JavaScript to calculate time periods, available vacation and sick days, or retirement benefits for employees, it is almost certain to run into a date conflict as the millenium mark is crossed. Source: Charles Babcock, "JavaScript Programmers, Heed the Warnings", Inter@ctiveWeek, Mar. 25, 1998 http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/content/inwk/0510/296113.html ***************************************************************************** EDITORIAL MAKES THE CASE FOR USE CASES Topic: Software Engineering In an editorial in the March, 1998, issue of Object Magazine, Editor-in-Chief Robert John Hathaway III takes on the use case critics. He believes that use cases are the primary driver of requirements gathering and process definition in the object-oriented domain. In surveys conducted by Object Magazine in January and February of this year, 66.2% of respondents said they use use cases, and 87.1% said they would like to. Hathaway believes that use cases have clearly become accepted as one of the best ways to handle requirements gathering and process in various environments, ranging from systems software to large-scale IT applications. In the past, requirements typically took the form of a set of stated necessities for a system; it was uncommon to see object diagrams or scenarios at all; and testing was performed in an ad hoc manner, took substantial amounts of time, and was difficult to validate. Today, it is more common to see use cases, which formalize the use of object diagrams, and use case-driven testing, which insures that systems meet requirements. The author is seeking feedback and experience with use cases in real projects, and can be reached at bhathaway@sigs.com. Source: Robert John Hathaway III, "The Ubiquity of Use Cases", Object Magazine, Mar. 1998 http://www.objectmagazine.com/editorial ************************************************************************ The DISA CFCSEIC welcomes suggestions for and pointers to software engineering-related articles. Contact the DISA CFCSEIC at: mailto:info@sw-eng.falls-church.va.us To subscribe to the "Center for Computer Systems Engineering News Brief" electronic mailing list, send a message to: mailto:listproc@sw-eng.falls-church.va.us In the body of the message, write: subscribe newslist To unsubscribe, write: unsubscribe newslist No signatures please. The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Center for Computer Systems Engineering Information Clearinghouse (CFCSEIC) "Center for Computer Systems Engineering News Briefs" is a compilation of summaries from software engineering-related articles in trade magazines, newsletters and press releases. 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