modelling

Model Based Testing Strategies

What strategies have you used with Model Based Testing? Do you use it exclusively for integration testing, or branch it out to other areas (unit/functional/system/spec verification)? Do you build focused "sealed" models or do you evolve complex onibus models over time? When in the product cycle do you invest in creating MBTs? What so...

Free/cheap PowerDesigner alternative?

We are using PowerDesigner at work for database modelling. But there is a hell of a price tag on that piece of software. And frankly, all I use is physical diagrams for MS SQL, which is about 1% of what PD knows. Are there any good alternatives? I know about Visio and MS SQL Diagrams, but looking for other options. ...

XNA Game Studio 3D model editor suggestions

I want to create basic low-poly 3D models to use in XNA Game Studio games. What cheap/free tools do people recommend? And does anyone have any links or snippets of code that show how to load 3D models of some sort into XNA and then draw them on the screen? ...

What are some good web resources for learning Object-Oriented Programming?

I've started programming more in OO style than ever (Python). Any good web resources I could read? I need help constructing and modelling objects, relations, interfaces etc. . Not only dry theory (I've read that), but something easy to grasp (examples would be nice), do you know any site or a good book? ...

What alternatives exist to UML to graphically represent software models

Excluding UML, What other formal methodologies exist to visually represent software models? Do you know any tools that allow you to work with them? ...

Can a Sequence Diagram realistically capture your logic in the same depth as code?

I use UML Sequence Diagrams all the time, and am familiar with the UML2 notation. But I only ever use them to capture the essence of what I intend to do. In other words the diagram always exists at a level of abstraction above the actual code. Every time I use them to try and describe exactly what I intend to do I end up using so much h...

XML Attributes vs Elements

When should you use XML attributes and when should you use XML elements? e.g. <customData> <records> <record name="foo" description="bar" /> </records> </customData> or <customData> <records> <record> <name>foo</name> <description>bar</description> </record> </records> </customData> ...

What tools/diagrams do you use for modelling multithreaded systems?

I'm sitting there every time I model my systems, thinking, there must be a better way to model concurrency than using UML activity diagrams. Please share your thoughts. What's your favourite tool or format for modelling and getting a clear understanding of how to build a concurrent system? ...

What is the best way to graphically represent page flow, as applicable to an action oriented web application?

What is the best way to graphically represent page flow, as applicable to an action oriented web application? What model do you use to represent page flows (page flow diagrams) encompassing pages (views), user actions on those views (events) and processes? These diagrams should act as a starting point for understanding between a busine...

Are there design patterns on modelling a structure containing Teams, Roles and Skills?

I need to model a system where by there will be a team who will consist of users who perform roles in the team and have skills assigned to them. i.e. a team A 5 members, one performs the team leader role, all perform the reply to email role, but some have an extra skill to answer the phone I'm trying to determine how I can best model t...

Domain Modeling or class diagram for car dealership

I am trying to draw a domain model or class diagram in UML for car dealership. I am stuck with how to present test drive in the model. One way is to have appointment class and then test-drive as sub class. A dealer also offers after-sale vehicle service so i could have appointment/booking class as super class and then vehicle service an...

Best tool for creating a societal model

Lets say I wanted to create some software that models a society. People exist, meet, have children, learn, share experiences etc. Which programming language should I use? I would assume that a dynamic language that enables me to swap out methods and/or implement types at run-time would reduce the amount of plumbing that i'd otherwise ha...

Is there a database modelling library for Java?

Does anyone know of a Java library that provides a useful abstraction for analyzing and manipulating arbitrary relational database schemata? I'm thinking of something that could do things like LibraryClass dbLib = ...; DbSchema schema = dbLib.getSchema("my_schema"); List<DbTable> tables = schema.getTables(); and DbTable myTable = .....

Is there an easy way to model a heart shape in 3D?

I want to model a heart shape in 3D with as less code needed as possible and without using external model files. In 2D, I can use some bezier curves to draw a heart shape, and I could extrude this to get a simple 3D heart shape, but this doesn't look like the shape I want. The bottom of the heart should be a peak, the upper part should ...

(Free) modelling/"drawing" tool for feature trees?

Hi, I'm looking for a good tool to draw/model feature trees. Feature trees are used in PLE (product line engineering) and are a tree view to product families having common and different features. It seems it is hard to find a common notation for feature trees, yet to find a tool supporting modelling/drawing them. Google wasn't very use...

Database Inheritance Select

For my university assignment I have to design some basic managment system for sicknesses and all for a school. I have decided to model some basic inheritance in the form of Person --> Student Person --> Staff Person --> Guardian Person (PersonID, FirstName, LastName) Student (StudentID (Which references the PersonID), ... ) The re...

How to start modelling a web application?

I ask this, because tomorrow is my first meeting with the client, in which she tells me, what she is doing right now (by hand) and what it is, what the new web-application should do in the end. I wondered, what I do during she shows me the steps of the process. Do I recognize use cases and model them directly? Do I describe the process...

Modelling C applications

Hi All, I would like to know if there are any tools that can help me model C applications i.e. Functional programming. E.g. I'm currently building a shared library. But to communicate my design visually, I need something like UML. I would like to do this so that the person reviewing my design need not read through 100s of pages of funct...

Open source software for building/designing a house?

Are there any open source tools for building or designing houses? Does it have many features, like calculating costs or simulating extreme weather conditions/aging, etc? I had the idea to start up a project like this, or join it; I think it would be really neat, but I couldn't find anything on it. ...

information criteria for confusion matrices

One can measure goodness of fit of a statistical model using Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), which accounts for goodness of fit and for the number of parameters that were used for model creation. AIC involves calculation of maximized value of likelihood function for that model (L). How can one compute L, given prediction results of ...