Program Evolution

Genetic algorithms are founded upon the principle of evolution, i.e., survival of the fittest. Hence evolution programming techniques, based on genetic algorithms, are applicable to many hard optimization problems, such as optimization of functions with linear and nonlinear constraints, the traveling salesman problem, and problems of scheduling, partitioning, and control. The importance of these techniques is still growing, since evolution programs are parallel in nature, and parallelism is one of the most promising directions in computer science. The book is self-contained and the only prerequisite is basic undergraduate mathematics. This third edition has been substantially revised and extended by three new chapters and by additional appendices containing working material to cover recent developments and a change in the perception of evolutionary computation.

This book focuses on novel trends in software evolution research and its relations with other emerging disciplines. Mens and Demeyer, both authorities in the field of software evolution, do not restrict themselves to the evolution of source code but also address the evolution of other, equally important software artifacts. This book is the indispensable source for researchers and professionals looking for an introduction and comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art.

This open access book presents the outcomes of the “Design for Future – Managed Software Evolution” priority program 1593, which was launched by the German Research Foundation (“Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)”) to develop new approaches to software engineering with a specific focus on long-lived software systems. The different lifecycles of software and hardware platforms lead to interoperability problems in such systems. Instead of separating the development, adaptation and evolution of software and its platforms, as well as aspects like operation, monitoring and maintenance, they should all be integrated into one overarching process. Accordingly, the book is split into three major parts, the first of which includes an introduction to the nature of software evolution, followed by an overview of the specific challenges and a general introduction to the case studies used in the project. The second part of the book consists of the main chapters on knowledge carrying software, and cover tacit knowledge in software evolution, continuous design decision support, model-based round-trip engineering for software product lines, performance analysis strategies, maintaining security in software evolution, learning from evolution for evolution, and formal verification of evolutionary changes. In turn, the last part of the book presents key findings and spin-offs. The individual chapters there describe various case studies, along with their benefits, deliverables and the respective lessons learned. An overview of future research topics rounds out the coverage. The book was mainly written for scientific researchers and advanced professionals with an academic background. They will benefit from its comprehensive treatment of various topics related to problems that are now gaining in importance, given the higher costs for maintenance and evolution in comparison to the initial development, and the fact that today, most software is not developed from scratch, but as part of a continuum of former and future releases.

Provides students and engineers with the fundamental developments and common practices of software evolution and maintenance Software Evolution and Maintenance: A Practitioner’s Approach introduces readers to a set of well-rounded educational materials, covering the fundamental developments in software evolution and common maintenance practices in the industry. Each chapter gives a clear understanding of a particular topic in software evolution, and discusses the main ideas with detailed examples. The authors first explain the basic concepts and then drill deeper into the important aspects of software evolution. While designed as a text in an undergraduate course in software evolution and maintenance, the book is also a great resource forsoftware engineers, information technology professionals, and graduate students in software engineering. Based on the IEEE SWEBOK (Software Engineering Body of Knowledge) Explains two maintenance standards: IEEE/EIA 1219 and ISO/IEC14764 Discusses several commercial reverse and domain engineering toolkits Slides for instructors are available online Software Evolution and Maintenance: A Practitioner’s Approach equips readers with a solid understanding of the laws of software engineering, evolution and maintenance models, reengineering techniques, legacy information systems, impact analysis, refactoring, program comprehension, and reuse.

Evolution of software has long been recognized as one of the most problematic and challenging areas in the field of software engineering, as evidenced by the high, often up to 60-80%, life-cycle costs attributed to this activity over the life of a software system. Studies of software evolution are central to the understanding and practice of software development. Yet it has received relatively little attention in the field of software engineering. This book focuses on topics aimed at giving a scientific insight into the aspect of software evolution and feedback. In summary, the book covers conceptual, phenomenological, empirical, technological and theoretical aspects of the field of software evolution - with contributions from the leading experts. This book delivers an up-to-date scientific understanding of what software evolution is, to show why it is inevitable for real world applications, and it demonstrates the role of feedback in software development and maintenance. The book also addresses some of the phenomenological and technological underpinnings and includes rules and guidelines for increased software evolvability and, in general, sustainability of the evolution process. Software Evolution and Feedback provides a long overdue, scientific focus on software evolution and the role of feedback in the software process, making this the indispensable guide for all software practitioners, researchers and managers in the software industry.

Annotation Explores the feasibility of using techniques such as program transformation and program abstraction to re-engineer and extend the life of an existing IT system. The authors (De Montfort University) outline a program transformation-based evolution workbench called FermaT, the architecture of the wide spectrum language (WSL), and a process for evolving object-oriented, real-time, and parallel systems. The final chapter presents six case studies that use FermaT and re- engineering assistant tools to evolve from source code to specifications or to new source code in a different language. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

'What does your Master teach?' asked a visitor. 'Nothing,' said the disciple. 'Then why does he give discourses?' 'He only points the way - he teaches nothing.' Anthony de Mello, One Minute Wisdom During the last three decades there has been a growing interest in algorithms which rely on analogies to natural processes. The emergence of massively par allel computers made these algorithms of practical interest. The best known algorithms in this class include evolutionary programming, genetic algorithms, evolution strategies, simulated annealing, classifier systems, and neural net works. Recently (1-3 October 1990) the University of Dortmund, Germany, hosted the First Workshop on Parallel Problem Solving from Nature [164]. This book discusses a subclass of these algorithms - those which are based on the principle of evolution (survival of the fittest). In such algorithms a popu lation of individuals (potential solutions) undergoes a sequence of unary (muta tion type) and higher order (crossover type) transformations. These individuals strive for survival: a selection scheme, biased towards fitter individuals, selects the next generation. After some number of generations, the program converges - the best individual hopefully represents the optimum solution. There are many different algorithms in this category. To underline the sim ilarities between them we use the common term "evolution programs" .

In most countries, the development of environmental programs follows a similar pattern. Early efforts concentrate on direct threats to public health, such as contaminated drinking water and air pollution. Only after these problems are addressed does the need to improve day-to-day management of hazardous wastes reach the top of the environmental agenda. In this new report, RFF‘s Katherine Probst and Thomas Beierle compare the development of hazardous waste management programs in eight countries---the United States, Canada, Germany, Denmark, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Thailand---and discuss steps taken to foster proper hazardous waste management. The authors focus on two questions: What were the major steps in the evolution of a successful hazardous waste program? What role, if any, did the public sector play in financing modern treatment and disposal facilities? Based on interviews and secondary sources, this report includes country-specific profiles that detail the steps in the evolution of each country‘s hazardous waste management program and describe the role of the public sector in facility financing.