1.7 Software Engineering

• Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE)


  A CASE tool is a software tool which provides a number of functions which assist with the design and testing of a computer system or program
• Functions of a CASE tool


  • Provides a data dictionary
  • Includes a graphics / diagram production feature
  • A code generator
  • May provide repositories of reusable code
  • May provide project management tool(s)
  • May incorporate version control
  • May carry out report generation
  • A prototyping tool
• Upper CASE tools


  • Used to support during analysis
• Lower CASE tools


  • Used during development
• Analysis and planning tools


  • Flow chart creators, such as Gliffy
  • Microsoft Visio
• Integrated Development Environment (IDE)


  Has tools for developing and debugging programs
• Debugger


  A software tool used to detect, locate and correct faults in a program
• Debugging Tool Features (pt1)


  • Program trace/step-through/step-into
  • Break point
• Debugging Tool Features (pt2)


  • Variable watch
  • Store dump
  • Error diagnostics
• Application Generator


  A software tool which is used to assist and speed-up the creation of a complete system
• Application Generator Features


  • Provides a complete environment to support the programmer
  • May include source code generator, compiler, etc
  • Usually creates code automatically
  • May include an interface generator
  • May include a debugger
• Editor


  Allows the programmer to enter and edit the high level language source code
• Editor Features


  • May have features unique to the language being edited (eg: indenting, keyword colours, search/replace)
• Version Management


  An approach used to track and save source code throughout the software development process
• Version Management Tools


  • Git
  • Mercurial
• Version Management Types


  • Local version control
  • Centralised version control
  • Distributed (cloud-based) version control
• Version management tools create different versions (or commits) of source code to track changes and development
• Version management tools can be used to roll-back to a previous version if a program becomes corrupt or an bug is found during the development process
• Version management tools allow code to be reviewed and checked before they committed to a master version
• Using cloud-based distributed version control will ensure developers always have access to the most up-to-date versions of the source code
• Distributed version control is useful when a software development team are working on different aspects of a single project
• Version control is an essential for maintaining quality control and assurance in software development
• Version control is essential for tracking bugs and issues in source code