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Characterizing the Software Development Process: A New Approach Based on Kolmogorov Complexity

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Book cover Computer Aided Systems Theory — EUROCAST 2001 (EUROCAST 2001)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 2178))

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Abstract

Our main aim is to propose a new characterization for the software development process. We suggest that software development methodology has some limits. These limits are a clue that software development process is more subjective and empirical than objective and formal. We use Kolmogorov complexity to develop the formal argument and to outline the informal conclusions. Kolmogorov complexity is based on the size in bits of the smallest effective description of an object and is a suitable quantitative measure of the object’s information content. We try to show that notion of complexity is a suitable measure and a tool for the characterization of the software development process. Followingthe paper conclusions, the limits of formal methods typifies the software development process as experimental and heuristical based, like, for example, the scientific development in physics and chemistry. Moreover, by our approach, we argue that software development is, in some sense, formally unpredictable. These conclusions suggest that software engineering is a scientific field not totally characterized by the typical work of engineering, but also by the experimental sciences methodology.

This work is partially supported by: FAPERGS (Projects QaP-For, Ω-π/UFPel) and CNPq (Projects HoVer-CAM, GRAPHIT, MEFIA) in Brazil.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. IFM/ UFPel, CP 354, 96010-900, Pelotas/RS, Brazil

    Carlos A.P. Campani

  2. II/ UFRGS, CP 15064, 91501-970, Porto Alegre/RS, Brazil

    Paulo Blauth Menezes

Authors
  1. Carlos A.P. Campani
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  2. Paulo Blauth Menezes
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Instituto Universitario de Ciencias y Tecnologías Cibernéticas, Campus de Tafira, 35017, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain

    Roberto Moreno-Díaz

  2. University of Linz, Research Institute for Symbolic Computation, 232, Schloss Hagenberg, Austria

    Bruno Buchberger

  3. University ofA Coruña, Facultad de Informática, LFCIA, Dpto. of Computer Science, Campus de Elviña, 15071, A Coruña, Spain

    José Luis Freire

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© 2001 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Campani, C.A., Menezes, P.B. (2001). Characterizing the Software Development Process: A New Approach Based on Kolmogorov Complexity. In: Moreno-Díaz, R., Buchberger, B., Luis Freire, J. (eds) Computer Aided Systems Theory — EUROCAST 2001. EUROCAST 2001. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 2178. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45654-6_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45654-6_20

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-42959-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-45654-4

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