Quality of Numerical Software

Quality of Numerical Software PDF

Author: Ronald F. Boisvert

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-01-09

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 1504129407

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Numerical software is central to our computerized society. It is used to control aeroplanes and bridges, operate manufacturing lines, control power plants and refineries, and analyse financial markets. Such software must be accurate, reliable, robust, efficient, easy to use, maintainable and adaptable. Quality assessment and control of numerical software is still not well understood. Although measurement is a key element, it remains difficult to assess many components of software quality and to evaluate the trade-offs between them. Fortunately, as numerical software is built upon a long established foundation of mathematical and computational knowledge, there is great potential for dramatic breakthroughs. This volume will address enabling techniques and tools such as benchmarks, testing methodologies, quality standards, metrics, and accuracy control mechanisms, and their application to software for differential equations, linear algebra, data analysis, as well as the evaluation of integrals, derivatives and elementary and special functions.

Numerical Methods in Software and Analysis

Numerical Methods in Software and Analysis PDF

Author: John R. Rice

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2014-05-19

Total Pages: 737

ISBN-13: 1483295680

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Numerical Methods, Software, and Analysis, Second Edition introduces science and engineering students to the methods, tools, and ideas of numerical computation. Introductory courses in numerical methods face a fundamental problem—there is too little time to learn too much. This text solves that problem by using high-quality mathematical software. In fact, the objective of the text is to present scientific problem solving using standard mathematical software. This book discusses numerous programs and software packages focusing on the IMSL library (including the PROTRAN system) and ACM Algorithms. The book is organized into three parts. Part I presents the background material. Part II presents the principal methods and ideas of numerical computation. Part III contains material about software engineering and performance evaluation. A uniform approach is used in each area of numerical computation. First, an intuitive development is made of the problems and the basic methods for their solution. Then, relevant mathematical software is reviewed and its use outlined. Many areas provide extensive examples and case studies. Finally, a deeper analysis of the methods is presented as in traditional numerical analysis texts. Emphasizes the use of high-quality mathematical software for numerical computation Extensive use of IMSL routines Features extensive examples and case studies

Improving the Quality of Numerical Software Through User-centered Design

Improving the Quality of Numerical Software Through User-centered Design PDF

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 17

ISBN-13:

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The software interface - whether graphical, command-oriented, menu-driven, or in the form of subroutine calls - shapes the user's perception of what software can do. It also establishes upper bounds on software usability. Numerical software interfaces typically are based on the designer's understanding of how the software should be used. That is a poor foundation for usability, since the features that are ''instinctively right'' from the developer's perspective are often the very ones that technical programmers find most objectionable or most difficult to learn. This paper discusses how numerical software interfaces can be improved by involving users more actively in design, a process known as user-centered design (UCD). While UCD requires extra organization and effort, it results in much higher levels of usability and can actually reduce software costs. This is true not just for graphical user interfaces, but for all software interfaces. Examples show how UCD improved the usability of a subroutine library, a command language, and an invocation interface.

Accuracy and Reliability in Scientific Computing

Accuracy and Reliability in Scientific Computing PDF

Author: Bo Einarsson

Publisher: SIAM

Published: 2005-01-01

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 9780898718157

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Numerical software is used to test scientific theories, design airplanes and bridges, operate manufacturing lines, control power plants and refineries, analyze financial derivatives, identify genomes, and provide the understanding necessary to derive and analyze cancer treatments. Because of the high stakes involved, it is essential that results computed using software be accurate, reliable, and robust. Unfortunately, developing accurate and reliable scientific software is notoriously difficult. This book investigates some of the difficulties related to scientific computing and provides insight into how to overcome them and obtain dependable results. The tools to assess existing scientific applications are described, and a variety of techniques that can improve the accuracy and reliability of newly developed applications is discussed. Accuracy and Reliability in Scientific Computing can be considered a handbook for improving the quality of scientific computing. It will help computer scientists address the problems that affect software in general as well as the particular challenges of numerical computation: approximations occurring at all levels, continuous functions replaced by discretized versions, infinite processes replaced by finite ones, and real numbers replaced by finite precision numbers. Divided into three parts, it starts by illustrating some of the difficulties in producing robust and reliable scientific software. Well-known cases of failure are reviewed and the what and why of numerical computations are considered. The second section describes diagnostic tools that can be used to assess the accuracy and reliability of existing scientific applications. In the last section, the authors describe a variety of techniques that can be employed to improve the accuracy and reliability of newly developed scientific applications. The authors of the individual chapters are international experts, many of them members of the IFIP Working Group on Numerical Software.

Modern Software Tools for Scientific Computing

Modern Software Tools for Scientific Computing PDF

Author: A. Bruaset

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 387

ISBN-13: 1461219868

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Looking back at the years that have passed since the realization of the very first electronic, multi-purpose computers, one observes a tremendous growth in hardware and software performance. Today, researchers and engi neers have access to computing power and software that can solve numerical problems which are not fully understood in terms of existing mathemati cal theory. Thus, computational sciences must in many respects be viewed as experimental disciplines. As a consequence, there is a demand for high quality, flexible software that allows, and even encourages, experimentation with alternative numerical strategies and mathematical models. Extensibil ity is then a key issue; the software must provide an efficient environment for incorporation of new methods and models that will be required in fu ture problem scenarios. The development of such kind of flexible software is a challenging and expensive task. One way to achieve these goals is to in vest much work in the design and implementation of generic software tools which can be used in a wide range of application fields. In order to provide a forum where researchers could present and discuss their contributions to the described development, an International Work shop on Modern Software Tools for Scientific Computing was arranged in Oslo, Norway, September 16-18, 1996. This workshop, informally referred to as Sci Tools '96, was a collaboration between SINTEF Applied Mathe matics and the Departments of Informatics and Mathematics at the Uni versity of Oslo.

Metrics and Models in Software Quality Engineering

Metrics and Models in Software Quality Engineering PDF

Author: Stephen H. Kan

Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional

Published: 1995

Total Pages: 376

ISBN-13:

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Though many books discuss software quality, this is the first book to integrate metrics with models and quality improvement strategies, and action plans with project experiences. Covering essential issues and techniques, Kan provides all the information needed to measure and improve the quality of the entire software development process from high-level to low-level design, and all phases of reliability.