Why? 🤔

The economies of ALL developed nations are dependent on software. More and more systems are software controlled and a Well-executed software development methodology helps teams significantly improve the quality of their software at each release. Not only that, it allows teams to adapt to change quickly.

Usually, folks skip this "WHY" part but it's important to know why you are studying it and how it solves a problem.

What is software? 👨‍💻

Computer programs and associated documentation such as requirements, design models, and user manuals. Software products may be developed for a particular customer or may be developed for a general market. Software products may be

• Generic - developed to be sold to a range of different customers e.g. PC software such as Excel or Word.

• Bespoke (custom) - developed for a single customer according to their specification.

New software can be created by developing new programs, configuring generic software systems, or reusing existing software.

What is software engineering?

Software engineering is an engineering discipline that is concerned with all aspects of software production and software engineers should adopt a systematic and organized approach to their work and use appropriate tools and techniques depending on the problem to be solved, and the development constraints, and the resources available.

What is the difference between?

Software Engineering Vs Computer Science

Computer science is concerned with theory and fundamentals, software engineering is concerned with the practicalities of developing and delivering useful software.

Software Engineering Vs System Engineering

System engineering is concerned with all aspects of computer-based systems development including hardware, software, and process engineering. Software engineering is part of this process concerned with developing the software infrastructure, control, applications, and databases in the system.

Software Costs 🤑

• Software costs often dominate computer system costs. The costs of software on a PC are often greater than the hardware cost. Roughly 60% of costs are development costs, and 40% are testing costs.

• Software costs more to maintain than it does to develop. For systems with long life, maintenance costs may be several times development costs.

• Software engineering is concerned with cost-effective software development.

• Distribution of costs depends on the development model that is used.

via GIPHY

What is a software process?

A set of activities whose goal is the development or evolution of software. Generic activities in all software processes are:

• Specification - What the system should do and its development constraints.
• Development - Production of the software system.
• Validation - Checking that the software is what the customer wants.
• Evolution - Changing the software in response to changing demands.

What is a software process model?

The process of dividing software development work into distinct phases to improve design, product management, and project management.

Generic Process Models

• Waterfall 🌊
• Iterative development
• Component-based software engineering

We will discuss these models in brief in other blogs of this series.

What is CASE (Computer-Aided Software Engineering)?

Software systems that are intended to provide automated support for software process activities. CASE systems are often used for method support.

Upper-CASE ☝️

• Tools to support the early process activities of requirements and design.

Lower-CASE 👇

• Tools to support later activities such as programming, debugging, and testing.

Attributes of Good Software ✨

The software should deliver the required functionality and performance to the user and should be maintainable, dependable, and acceptable.

• Maintainability
• Dependability
• Efficiency
• Acceptability

Challenges Faced by a Software Engineer

Heterogeneity

• Developing techniques for building software that can cope with heterogeneous platforms and execution environments.

Delivery 🚚

• Developing techniques that lead to faster delivery of software.

Trust 🤨

• Developing techniques that demonstrate that software can be trusted by its users.

via GIPHY

Nature of Software

Software plays a dual role:- Product and Vehicle

1. As a product:

   • It delivers the computing potential across networks of Hardware.
   • It enables the Hardware to deliver the expected functionality.
   • It acts as an information transformer because it produces, manages, acquires, modifies, displays, or transmits information.

2. As a vehicle:

   • It provides system functionality (e.g., payroll system)
   • It controls other software (e.g., an operating system)
   • It helps build other software (e.g., software tools)

The software delivers the information

• Transform personal information in a local context
• Manages business information
• Gateway to worldwide information network

Hardware Failure Rate 📉

How bathtub curve describe hardware failure rate?

The bathtub curve is generated by mapping the rate of early "infant mortality" failures when first introduced, the rate of random failures with a constant failure rate during its "useful life", and finally the rate of "wear out" failures as the product exceeds its design lifetime.

via GIPHY

Wear vs. Deterioration

Software Applications 📱

1. System software: System Software is necessary to manage the computer resources and support the execution of application programs. such as compilers, editors, and file management utilities.

2. Application software: Application software is designed to fulfill the user’s requirement by interacting with the user directly, stand-alone programs for specific needs.

3. Engineering/scientific software: Scientific and engineering software satisfies the needs of a scientific or engineering user to perform enterprise-specific tasks. Characterized by “number crunching” algorithms such as automotive stress analysis, molecular biology, orbital dynamics, etc.

4. Embedded software: This type of software is embedded into the hardware normally in the Read-Only Memory (ROM) as a part of a large system and is used to support certain functionality under the control conditions residing within a product or system. (keypad control of a microwave oven, digital function of dashboard display in a car).

5. Product-line software: focus on a limited marketplace to address the mass consumer market. (word processing, graphics, database management).

6. WebApps (Web applications): Networking Software provides the required support necessary for computers to interact with each other and with data storage facilities. The networking software is also used when software is running on a network of computers (such as the World Wide Web).

7. AI: Software like expert systems, decision support systems, pattern recognition software, artificial neural networks, etc.

8. Open world computing: pervasive, ubiquitous, distributed computing due to wireless networking. How to allow mobile devices, personal computers, and enterprise systems to communicate across a vast network.

9. Open source: "free" source code open to the computing community.

Thank you so much for taking your valuable time for reading

I took the initiative to learn in public and share my work with others. I tried my level best in squeezing as much information as possible in the easiest manner. Hope you learnt something new today :)

In the next part of this blog, we will study about Software Development Models & Architecture. 👇

ikunalsingh.hashnode.dev/software-developme..

Any feedback for further improvement will be highly appreciated!

via GIPHY