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Creating an Ada module description tool

The purpose of this project was to develop, using Object Oriented Development (OOD), a software tool identified as the Ada Module Description Tool (AMDT). The AMDT provides an automated way to get a module level description of Ada code. A module level description will identify packages, subprograms, objects and type declarations and relationships. This software tool also has the ability to compare Ada source code with a module level description. The comparison shall identify any object, type, subprogram, or package declared in the module level description that does not match the provided source code.The AMDT is made up of two executable programs that run on a VAX/VMS system. The Module Description Generator (MDG) generates a module level description from a set of Ada source code files. The Module Description Checker (MDC) compares a module level description to the Ada source code. Ada is the required High Order Language for the Department Of Defense. The development methodology used was basically Object Oriented Development as described in the book Software Engineerinq With-AAA by Grady Booch and the Software Standards and Procedure Manual for Object Oriented Development (SSPM-M02.04 Draft).Booch's book is a description of Object Oriented Development methodology, while the SSPM is a set of instructions and standard format to implement the methodology. The total design of the AMDT is documented in five segments. The SSPM defines a segment as the code and documentation resulting from a pass through the OOD process. From a Software Quality Engineer's point of view the AMDT would save time in not having to check module descriptions by hand. From the Software Engineer's point of view, when the code is updated a new module description can be generated easily to keep the documentation current with the code. The AMDT tool as written does not find object declarations in the code. Fortunately the effect is minor because the module descriptions needs to be edited anyway. The module description generated by the MDG may have too much information in it. The designer wants only the types, objects, and operations that aid in the understandability of the design and how it is implemented. The only checks the MDC makes are to see if an identifier on the module description is in the code. It does not check to see if there are extra items in the code that should be required in the module description. / Department of Computer Science

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/183647
Date January 1988
CreatorsRice, Richard M.
ContributorsBall State University. Dept. of Computer Science., Underkoffler, Milton M.
Source SetsBall State University
Detected LanguageEnglish
Formatii, 26, [127] leaves : ill. ; 28 cm.
SourceVirtual Press

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