Concise Guide to Software Engineering


Book Description

This textbook presents a concise introduction to the fundamental principles of software engineering, together with practical guidance on how to apply the theory in a real-world, industrial environment. The wide-ranging coverage encompasses all areas of software design, management, and quality. Topics and features: presents a broad overview of software engineering, including software lifecycles and phases in software development, and project management for software engineering; examines the areas of requirements engineering, software configuration management, software inspections, software testing, software quality assurance, and process quality; covers topics on software metrics and problem solving, software reliability and dependability, and software design and development, including Agile approaches; explains formal methods, a set of mathematical techniques to specify and derive a program from its specification, introducing the Z specification language; discusses software process improvement, describing the CMMI model, and introduces UML, a visual modelling language for software systems; reviews a range of tools to support various activities in software engineering, and offers advice on the selection and management of a software supplier; describes such innovations in the field of software as distributed systems, service-oriented architecture, software as a service, cloud computing, and embedded systems; includes key learning topics, summaries and review questions in each chapter, together with a useful glossary. This practical and easy-to-follow textbook/reference is ideal for computer science students seeking to learn how to build high quality and reliable software on time and on budget. The text also serves as a self-study primer for software engineers, quality professionals, and software managers.




Concise Guide to Software Testing


Book Description

This practically-focused textbook provides a concise and accessible introduction to the field of software testing, explaining the fundamental principles and offering guidance on applying the theory in an industrial environment. Topics and features: presents a brief history of software quality and its influential pioneers, as well as a discussion of the various software lifecycles used in software development; describes the fundamentals of testing in traditional software engineering, and the role that static testing plays in building quality into a product; explains the process of software test planning, test analysis and design, and test management; discusses test outsourcing, and test metrics and problem solving; reviews the tools available to support software testing activities, and the benefits of a software process improvement initiative; examines testing in the Agile world, and the verification of safety critical systems; considers the legal and ethical aspects of software testing, and the importance of software configuration management; provides key learning topics and review questions in every chapter, and supplies a helpful glossary at the end of the book. This easy-to-follow guide is an essential resource for undergraduate students of computer science seeking to learn about software testing, and how to build high quality and reliable software on time and on budget. The work will also be of interest to industrialists including software engineers, software testers, quality professionals and software managers, as well as the motivated general reader.




Concise Guide to Object-Oriented Programming


Book Description

This engaging textbook provides an accessible introduction to coding and the world of Object-Oriented (OO) programming, using Java as the illustrative programming language. Emphasis is placed on what is most helpful for the first-time coder, in order to develop and understand their knowledge and skills in a way that is relevant and practical. The examples presented in the text demonstrate how skills in OO programming can be used to create applications and programs that have real-world value in daily life. Topics and features: presents an overview of programming and coding, a brief history of programming languages, and a concise introduction to programming in Java using BlueJ; discusses classes and objects, reviews various Java library objects and packages, and introduces the idea of the Application Programming Interface (API); highlights how OO design forms an essential role in producing a useful solution to a problem, and the importance of the concept of class polymorphism; examines what to do when code encounters an error condition, describing the exception handling mechanism and practical measures in defensive coding; investigates the work of arrays and collections, with a particular focus on fixed length arrays, the ArrayList, HashMap and HashSet; describes the basics of building a Graphical User Interface (GUI) using Swing, and the concept of a design pattern; outlines two complete applications, from conceptual design to implementation, illustrating the content covered by the rest of the book; provides code for all examples and projects at an associated website. This concise guide is ideal for the novice approaching OO programming for the first time, whether they are a student of computer science embarking on a one-semester course in this area, or someone learning for the purpose of professional development or self-improvement. The text does not require any prior knowledge of coding, software engineering, OO, or mathematics.




Concise Guide to Formal Methods


Book Description

This invaluable textbook/reference provides an easy-to-read guide to the fundamentals of formal methods, highlighting the rich applications of formal methods across a diverse range of areas of computing. Topics and features: introduces the key concepts in software engineering, software reliability and dependability, formal methods, and discrete mathematics; presents a short history of logic, from Aristotle’s syllogistic logic and the logic of the Stoics, through Boole’s symbolic logic, to Frege’s work on predicate logic; covers propositional and predicate logic, as well as more advanced topics such as fuzzy logic, temporal logic, intuitionistic logic, undefined values, and the applications of logic to AI; examines the Z specification language, the Vienna Development Method (VDM) and Irish School of VDM, and the unified modelling language (UML); discusses Dijkstra’s calculus of weakest preconditions, Hoare’s axiomatic semantics of programming languages, and the classical approach of Parnas and his tabular expressions; provides coverage of automata theory, probability and statistics, model checking, and the nature of proof and theorem proving; reviews a selection of tools available to support the formal methodist, and considers the transfer of formal methods to industry; includes review questions and highlights key topics in every chapter, and supplies a helpful glossary at the end of the book. This stimulating guide provides a broad and accessible overview of formal methods for students of computer science and mathematics curious as to how formal methods are applied to the field of computing.




Smart and Gets Things Done


Book Description

A "good" programmer can outproduce five, ten, and sometimes more run-of-the-mill programmers. The secret to success for any software company then is to hire the good programmers. But how to do that? In Joel on Hiring, Joel Spolsky draws from his experience both at Microsoft and running his own successful software company based in New York City. He writes humorously, but seriously about his methods for sorting resumes, for finding great candidates, and for interviewing, in person and by phone. Joel’s methods are not complex, but they do get to the heart of the matter: how to recognize a great developer when you see one.




A Concise Introduction to Software Engineering


Book Description

An introductory course on Software Engineering remains one of the hardest subjects to teach largely because of the wide range of topics the area enc- passes. I have believed for some time that we often tend to teach too many concepts and topics in an introductory course resulting in shallow knowledge and little insight on application of these concepts. And Software Engineering is ?nally about application of concepts to e?ciently engineer good software solutions. Goals I believe that an introductory course on Software Engineering should focus on imparting to students the knowledge and skills that are needed to successfully execute a commercial project of a few person-months e?ort while employing proper practices and techniques. It is worth pointing out that a vast majority of the projects executed in the industry today fall in this scope—executed by a small team over a few months. I also believe that by carefully selecting the concepts and topics, we can, in the course of a semester, achieve this. This is the motivation of this book. The goal of this book is to introduce to the students a limited number of concepts and practices which will achieve the following two objectives: – Teach the student the skills needed to execute a smallish commercial project.




Concise Guide to Databases


Book Description

This easy-to-read textbook/reference presents a comprehensive introduction to databases, opening with a concise history of databases and of data as an organisational asset. As relational database management systems are no longer the only database solution, the book takes a wider view of database technology, encompassing big data, NoSQL, object and object-relational and in-memory databases. The text also examines the issues of scalability, availability, performance and security encountered when building and running a database in the real world. Topics and features: presents review and discussion questions at the end of each chapter, in addition to skill-building, hands-on exercises; introduces the fundamental concepts and technologies in database systems, placing these in an historic context; describes the challenges faced by database professionals; reviews the use of a variety of database types in business environments; discusses areas for further research within this fast-moving domain.




Making Process Improvement Work


Book Description

Software process improvement too often reflects a significant disconnect between theory and practice. This book bridges the gap—offering a straightforward, systematic approach to planning, implementing, and monitoring a process improvement program. Project managers will appreciate the book’s concise presentation style and will be able to apply its practical ideas immediately to real-life challenges. With examples based on the authors’ own extensive experience, this book shows how to define goals that directly address the needs of your organization, use improvement models appropriately, and devise a pragmatic action plan. In addition, it reveals valuable strategies for deploying organizational change, and delineates essential metrics for tracking your progress. Appendices provide examples of an action plan, a risk management plan, and a mini-assessment process. You will learn how to: · Scope and develop an improvement plan · Identify and prioritize risks and mitigate anticipated difficulties · Derive metrics that accurately measure progress toward business goals · Sell your improvement program in-house · Initially target practitioners and projects most-open to new approaches and techniques · Stay focused on goals and problems · Align the actions of managers and practitioners · Delay major policy documents and edicts until solutions have been practiced and tested · Use existing resources to speed deployment · Incorporate improvement models, such as SEI CMM® and CMMISM, into your improvement program For those managers who are tired of chronic project difficulties, constant new improvement schemes, and a lack of real progress, this easily digestible volume provides the real-world wisdom you need to realize positive change in your organization.




The Missing README


Book Description

Key concepts and best practices for new software engineers — stuff critical to your workplace success that you weren’t taught in school. For new software engineers, knowing how to program is only half the battle. You’ll quickly find that many of the skills and processes key to your success are not taught in any school or bootcamp. The Missing README fills in that gap—a distillation of workplace lessons, best practices, and engineering fundamentals that the authors have taught rookie developers at top companies for more than a decade. Early chapters explain what to expect when you begin your career at a company. The book’s middle section expands your technical education, teaching you how to work with existing codebases, address and prevent technical debt, write production-grade software, manage dependencies, test effectively, do code reviews, safely deploy software, design evolvable architectures, and handle incidents when you’re on-call. Additional chapters cover planning and interpersonal skills such as Agile planning, working effectively with your manager, and growing to senior levels and beyond. You’ll learn: How to use the legacy code change algorithm, and leave code cleaner than you found it How to write operable code with logging, metrics, configuration, and defensive programming How to write deterministic tests, submit code reviews, and give feedback on other people’s code The technical design process, including experiments, problem definition, documentation, and collaboration What to do when you are on-call, and how to navigate production incidents Architectural techniques that make code change easier Agile development practices like sprint planning, stand-ups, and retrospectives This is the book your tech lead wishes every new engineer would read before they start. By the end, you’ll know what it takes to transition into the workplace–from CS classes or bootcamps to professional software engineering.




More Joel on Software


Book Description

Joel, Apress, Blogs, and Blooks ...I was learning the hard way about how to be a publisher and probably spending way too much time looking at web sites and programming than I should have in response to that. Anyway, one day I came across this web site called , which was run by a guy with strong opinions and an unusual, clever writing style, along with a willingness to take on the conventional wisdom. In particular, he was writing this ongoing series about how bad most user interfaces were—mostly because programmers by and large knew, as Joel and I would say, using the same Yiddish–derived NYC vernacular that we both share, “bupkis” about what users really want. And I, like many, was hooked both by the series and the occasional random essay that Joel wrote. And then I had this epiphany: I'm a publisher, I like reading his stuff, why not turn it into a book?... Read the complete Foreword — Gary Cornell, Cofounder, Apress Since the release of the bestselling title Joel on Software in 2004, requests for a sequel have been relentless. So, we went back to the famed JoelonSoftware.com archives and pulled out a new batch of favorites, many of which have been downloaded over one million times. With Joel's newest book, More Joel on Software, you'll get an even better (not to mention updated) feast of Joel's opinions and impressions on software development, software design, running a software business, and so much more. This is a new selection of essays from the author's web site, http://www.joelonsoftware.com. Joel Spolsky started his weblog in March 2000 in order to offer his insights, based on years of experience, on how to improve the world of programming. This weblog has become infamous among the programming world, and is linked to more than 600 other web sites and translated into 30+ languages! Spolsky's extraordinary writing skills, technical knowledge, and caustic wit have made him a programming guru. With the success of Joel on Software, there has been a strong demand for additional gems and advice, and this book is the answer to those requests. Containing a collection of all–new articles from the original, More Joel on Software has even more of an edge than the original, and the tips for running a business or managing people have far broader application than the software industry. We feel it is safe to say that this is the most useful book you will buy this year.