September 1988 - Vol. 31 No. 9
Features
Program verification: the very idea
The notion of program verification appears to trade upon an equivocation. Algorithms, as logical structures, are appropriate subjects for deductive verification.…
Learning by doing with simulated intelligent help
Intelligent advisory interfaces will afford new approaches to help and training problems, however little is known about the usability of such facilities. This recent…
Reading and writing with computers: a framework for explaining differences in performance
Several factors can influence the behavior of users as they read and write with computers. Recent research indicates that both quality and quantity depend upon page size,…
Comparison of analysis techniques for information requirement determination
A comparison of systems analysis techniques, the Data Flow Diagram (DFD) and part of the Integrated Definition Method (IDEFo), is done using a new developmental…
A comparison of techniques for the specification of external system behavior
The elimination of ambiguity, inconsistency, and incompleteness in a Software Requirements Specification (SRS) document is inherently difficult, due to the use of natural…
The input/output complexity of sorting and related problems
We provide tight upper and lower bounds, up to a constant factor, for the number of inputs and outputs (I/OS) between internal memory and secondary storage required for…
Improving locality of reference in a garbage-collecting memory management system
Modern Lisp systems make heavy use of a garbage-collecting style of memory management. Generally, the locality of reference in garbage-collected systems has been very…