Authors:
Emanuel S. Grant
and
Pann Ajjimaporn
Affiliation:
University of North Dakota, United States
Keyword(s):
Software Engineering, Reverse Engineering, Modelling Notation, UML, Activity Diagram, Safety-Critical Systems, Pedagogy, Curriculum.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Authoring Tools and Content Development
;
Computer-Supported Education
;
Context Dependent Learning
;
e-Learning
;
Information Technologies Supporting Learning
;
Learning/Teaching Methodologies and Assessment
;
Project Based Learning and Engineering Education
;
Ubiquitous Learning
Abstract:
Since the Y2K crisis, reverse engineering has become a major area of work in industrial software application development, but lacks emphasis in US academia. This issue is exemplified by the high demand for software systems in new and expanding software application areas, which has resulted in systems being implemented before the requirements and design phases have been completed. Towards the maintenance of such systems, it is necessary to conducted reverse engineering for the derivation of software documentation for requirements and high-level and low-level design. When this scenario exists in the domain of safety-critical system, particularly in the aviation industry, reverse engineering takes on greater value because such software systems have to undergo development regulations and certification restrictions. This work reports on the pedagogical revelations gained from conducting reverse engineering on a software system that was developed and deployed for use in managing the assign
ment of commercial aircrafts to airport terminal gates. The software system incorporated genetic algorithms solutions and was implemented on a high-speed multi-processor system. The reverse engineering methodology applied was based on the RTCA DO-178C Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification specification for onboard avionic software systems.
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