Editorial Pointers

Software programming and development practices are at the very core of this publication—where the ever-changing nature of the field has been traced, tested, disputed, and tested again for as long as both have coexisted. At every turn, the goal is to impart new insights or real-world experience to challenge conventional wisdom and inspire further progress.

This month we examine software development techniques in which the size of code is measured by the logic and solution it offers rather than the dimensions it envelops. "Everybody using computer systems has something to gain from more compact programs," says Bjorn De Sutter, who co-guest edited this month’s section on software techniques for program compaction with fellow Ghent University colleague Koen De Bosschere. The articles in this section depict five of the most promising methods for automating the compaction process, illustrating their benefits in a range of applications, including networks, embedded systems, mobile systems, desktop systems, and servers.

Also in this issue, Michael Whitman contends there is no cookie-cutter approach to securing an organization’s most prized asset—information. The threats, however, have never been more real or the answers more plentiful. The first step, he says, it to know your enemy. So armed, a firm can build a more effective security strategy based on the identification and ranking of potential threats.

Richard Potter explores the array of juggling acts performed by today’s chief information officers. Surviving the position, he says, requires a unique set of technical skills and professional diplomacy to best manage the expectations of both superiors and staff.

We may all think we know the disruptive effect of email throughout our workday, but Jackson, Dawson, and Wilson have recorded the seconds and minutes each message chews. They now offer useful tips for better managing email to actually increase productivity.

Our columnists this month talk of breaks with tradition. In "Practical Programmer," Robert Glass wonders if there really is a difference between traditional software development and current Web-based projects. Hal Berghel traces the contested differences between conventional computer forensics and the discipline of Internet Forensics in "Digital Village." And in "Viewpoint," David Dill, Bruce Schneier, and Barbara Simons warn of the compromises and threats to fair elections when traditional voting machines are replaced by paperless e-voting devices.

Diane Crawford,
Editor