Here you will find articles I have written on topics that interest me, from software engineering, technology, and privacy issues to soccer and motorcycles.
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Is Software Engineering Real Engineering?
The debate over whether Software Engineering qualifies as a legitimate engineering discipline has been a persistent point of contention since the 1960s. Software Engineering degree programs have only begun being offered by universities within the last two decades. To unravel the question of whether Software Engineering is indeed a branch of engineering, we must first establish a clear definition of engineering and assess whether the characteristics associated with traditional engineering disciplines apply to Software Engineering. ...
Spin: Reducing State Space
Verification is a paramount and formidable challenge in software engineering. Moreover, it serves as a pivotal process that distinguishes software engineering from mere software development. Spin is a popular open-source software verification tool that has seen continuous research and development since its inception at Bell Labs in 1980.1 Under the hood, Spin is an explicit-state model checker, meaning it exhaustively searches the entire state space of a model. To check an algorithm or system using Spin you must first recode it in Promela, a C-like language used for defining a model for use with Spin. Once a model is implemented in Promela, Spin can be used to find counter-traces to correctness constraints if any exist and otherwise formally verify the model. Challenges arise when attempting to verify sufficiently complex systems or algorithms, particularly where the state space exceeds your system’s memory capacity or when the search will take eons to complete. ...
Keyboard Minimalism
OLBK Planck with NovelKeys KAM Superuser keycaps. What is your first thought when you see the keyboard pictured above? “How can anyone live without numbers?” “There is no way this can be practical, right?” “That keyboard could only be used for sending basic emails, not real work.” You may be wondering why on earth someone would choose to use anything less than a full-sized keyboard, especially one this small. ...