scholarly journals Detector-based component model abstraction for microservice-based systems

Computing ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evangelos Ntentos ◽  
Uwe Zdun ◽  
Konstantinos Plakidas ◽  
Patric Genfer ◽  
Sebastian Geiger ◽  
...  

AbstractOne of the chief problems in software architecture is avoiding architecture model drift and erosion in all kinds of complex software systems. Microservice-based systems introduce new challenges in this context, as they often use a large variety of technologies in their latest iteration, and are changed and released very frequently. Existing solutions that can be used to reconstruct architecture models fall short in addressing these new challenges, as they cannot easily cope with continuous evolution, their accuracy is too low, and highly polyglot settings are not supported well. In this work, we report on a research study aiming to design a highly accurate architecture model abstraction approach for comprehending component architecture models of highly polyglot systems that can cope with continuous evolution. After analyzing the results of related studies, we found two possible architecture model abstraction approaches that meet the requirements of our study: an opportunistic, and a reusable semi-automatic detector-based approach. We have conducted an empirical case study for validation and comparison of the two approaches. We conclude that both detector approaches are feasible. In our case study, the reusable approach breaks even in terms of time and effort needed for establishing reuse, if modest reuse of detectors is possible, and is producing slightly more high quality and evolution-stable solutions than the opportunistic approach.

Author(s):  
Ayda Saidane ◽  
Nicolas Guelfi

The quality of software systems depends strongly on their architecture. For this reason, taking into account non-functional requirements at architecture level is crucial for the success of the software development process. Early architecture model validation facilitates the detection and correction of design errors. In this research, the authors are interested in security critical systems, which require a reliable validation process. So far, they are missing security-testing approaches providing an appropriate compromise between software quality and development cost while satisfying certification and audit procedures requirements through automated and documented validation activities. In this chapter, the authors propose a novel test-driven and architecture model-based security engineering approach for resilient systems. It consists of a test-driven security modeling framework and a test based validation approach. The assessment of the security requirement satisfaction is based on the test traces analysis. Throughout this study, the authors illustrate the approach using a client server architecture case study.


2014 ◽  
pp. 2072-2098
Author(s):  
Ayda Saidane ◽  
Nicolas Guelfi

The quality of software systems depends strongly on their architecture. For this reason, taking into account non-functional requirements at architecture level is crucial for the success of the software development process. Early architecture model validation facilitates the detection and correction of design errors. In this research, the authors are interested in security critical systems, which require a reliable validation process. So far, they are missing security-testing approaches providing an appropriate compromise between software quality and development cost while satisfying certification and audit procedures requirements through automated and documented validation activities. In this chapter, the authors propose a novel test-driven and architecture model-based security engineering approach for resilient systems. It consists of a test-driven security modeling framework and a test based validation approach. The assessment of the security requirement satisfaction is based on the test traces analysis. Throughout this study, the authors illustrate the approach using a client server architecture case study.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. e66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes M. Schleicher ◽  
Michael Vögler ◽  
Christian Inzinger ◽  
Schahram Dustdar

Container-based application deployments have received significant attention in recent years. Operating system virtualization based on containers as a mechanism to deploy and manage complex, large-scale software systems has become a popular mechanism for application deployment and operation. Packaging application components into self-contained artifacts has brought substantial flexibility to developers and operation teams alike. However, this flexibility comes at a price. Pracitioners need to respect numerous constraints ranging from security and compliance requirements, to specific regulatory conditions. Fulfilling these requirements is especially challenging in specialized domains with large numbers of stakeholders. Moreover, the rapidly growing number of container images to be managed due to the introduction of new or updated applications and respective components, leads to significant challenges for container management and adaptation. In this paper, we introduce Smart Brix, a framework for continuous evolution of container application deployments that tackles these challenges. Smart Brix integrates and unifies concepts of continuous integration, runtime monitoring, and operational analytics. Furthermore, it allows practitioners to define generic analytics and compensation pipelines composed of self-assembling processing components to autonomously validate and verify containers to be deployed. We illustrate the feasibility of our approach by evaluating our framework using a case study from the smart city domain. We show that Smart Brix is horizontally scalable and runtime of the implemented analysis and compensation pipelines scales linearly with the number of container application packages.


Author(s):  
Alex R. Sabau ◽  
Simon Hacks ◽  
Andreas Steffens

Abstract The discipline of enterprise architecture (EA) is an established approach to model and manage the interaction of business processes and IT in an organization. Thereby, the EA model as a central artifact of EA is subject to a continuous evolution caused by multiple sources of changes. The continuous evolution requires a lot of effort in controlling and managing the evolution of the EA model. This is especially true when merging the induced changes from different sources in the EA model. Additionally, the lack of tool and automation support makes this a very time-consuming and error-prone task. The evolutionary character and the automated quality assessment of artifacts is a well-known challenge in the software development domain as well. To meet these challenges, the discipline of continuous delivery (CD) has emerged to be very useful. The evolution of EA model artifacts shows similarities to the evolution of software artifacts. Therefore, we leveraged practices of CD to practices of EA maintenance. Thus, we created a conceptual framework for automated EA model maintenance. The concepts were realized in a first prototype and were evaluated in a fictitious case study against equivalence classes based on EA model metrics and a set of several requirements for automated EA model maintenance from research. Overall, the concepts prove to be a promising basis for further refinement, implementation, and evaluation in research in an industrial context.


Author(s):  
Cassandra Simmons ◽  
Claire Allison ◽  
Jayde Kee ◽  
Derek Ballas

Objectives: This case study intends to examine how staff characteristics, training methods, and duration of training impact overall staff preparedness and comfortability when transitioning to a new Labor and Delivery. Background: A new medical facility offers an opportunity for greater capacity and expanding services, but it also poses new challenges for staff. Success in this transition depends on how quickly the staff can adapt to their new environment and how prepared they are to deliver high-quality care to patients. Methods: An optional survey was conducted to determine the staff’s confidence in their training using a 5-point Likert-type scale. Results: After responses were collected, a paired samples two-sided t test revealed that there was no statistically significant change in the confidence and preparedness for staff. Conclusions: With this overall outcome, medical facilities will have more discernment on ways to improve their employees’ trust and confidence in performing their tasks and providing care while in a new environment. This will then be reflected in the care given toward patients in the future.


Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (21) ◽  
pp. 4887
Author(s):  
Sara Bom ◽  
Manuel Fitas ◽  
Ana Margarida Martins ◽  
Pedro Pinto ◽  
Helena Margarida Ribeiro ◽  
...  

With the increasing debate on sustainability, there is a strong market trend to formulate more sustainable products for topical application. Several studies emphasize the potential applications of natural, organic, or green chemistry-derived ingredients, but comparative studies between conventional ingredients and sustainable alternatives are lacking. This type of study is considered an excellent baseline and time-saving strategy for future studies. In addition, one of the main challenges of replacing ingredients by sustainable alternatives in topical vehicles is to maintain high-quality products. Thus, the main goal of this research study was to create a well-defined strategy supported by specific experimental data for the development of sustainable topical vehicles with high-quality standards. The study was designed to evaluate the effects of replacing conventional ingredients (e.g., hydrocarbons, silicones, and preservatives) by sustainable ones on the physical, chemical, and microbiological features of topical emulsions. Additionally, in vivo assessment studies were performed to evaluate the safety, biological efficacy, and sensorial aspects of the developed formulations. The results obtained showed that the replacement of ingredients by sustainable alternatives has an effective impact on the physicochemical and structural properties of the emulsions, mainly on their rheological behavior. However, using appropriate strategies for ingredient selection and rheological adjustment, it is possible to overcome some barriers created by the use of natural raw materials, thus developing appealing and high-quality sustainable topical vehicles.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bertrand Blancheton

AbstractThis article studies the consequences of the COVID-19 global health crisis on the fashion and textile industry in France. This crisis is only part of an already long, slow decline in the industry. The paper analyzes the composition and organization of textile industry. It offers data related to: sales, consumption, employees, company size, as well as imports and exports - all highlighting the importance of fashion and textiles in France today. The paper shows how lockdown has asphyxiated production and retail sales. COVID-19 caused the appearance of new challenges: mask production, new aspects of CSR in luxury textiles and the development of antiviral fabrics. Mask production can be considered as a case study useful in the analysis of textile challenges. In this context, the French textile industry should continue to improve on innovation and quality. Promoting labelling on the global market can help the sector to develop its high-end. France is credible to expanding its fashion and textile supply in luxury.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah C Cai ◽  
Leanne E King ◽  
Johanna T Dwyer

ABSTRACT We assessed the quality of online health and nutrition information using a Google™ search on “supplements for cancer”. Search results were scored using the Health Information Quality Index (HIQI), a quality-rating tool consisting of 12 objective criteria related to website domain, lack of commercial aspects, and authoritative nature of the health and nutrition information provided. Possible scores ranged from 0 (lowest) to 12 (“perfect” or highest quality). After eliminating irrelevant results, the remaining 160 search results had median and mean scores of 8. One-quarter of the results were of high quality (score of 10–12). There was no correlation between high-quality scores and early appearance in the sequence of search results, where results are presumably more visible. Also, 496 advertisements, over twice the number of search results, appeared. We conclude that the Google™ search engine may have shortcomings when used to obtain information on dietary supplements and cancer.


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