The F-35 (software) saga

Talking about pressure to deliver? Read below:
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/07/25/f35_software_block_3f_complete_end_2017_says_lockheed/

Quoting:
"Meanwhile, the Pentagon's director of operational test and evaluation told a US Congress committee earlier this year that the aircraft won't be ready before 2019, mentioning 158 "Category 1" software flaws that could cause death, severe injury or illness unless fixed.

The USAF hit back at these reports, announcing in May that Block 3F would be ready by "September or October" this year. Block 4 is said to be already in development, in spite of the delays to Block 3F. New software "drops" will be rolled out about every two years, with Block 4 scheduled for the beginning of the 2020s."
(...)
"The paper also pegged the cost of each aircraft at around £198m, though post-publication commentary appeared to suggest that the newspaper had included the through-life costs of each aircraft (i.e. spare parts, software upgrades, fuel, etc). The majority of public cost estimates are done on an "upfront" basis and do not include projected spares packages and the like.

Delays and cost overruns have been a frequent feature of the F-35 saga. Given the sheer quantity of software in not only the aircraft but its ALIS logistics suite too, it should be no surprise that costs have spiralled and unforeseen delays reared their heads. After all, since when did any Big Government IT Project run on time and within budget?"

And more news on the F-35:

• https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/07/20/f35_oxygen_system_algorithm_tweak/
• https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/01/12/f35_alis_software_delayed/

(Updated: 2017-07-31, link fixed, add. links)

Into NASA coding philosophy

Some additional insights on NASA and the highly reliable code that it produces:
https://mystudentvoices.com/a-look-into-nasas-coding-philosophy-b747957c7f8a

Quoting:
"With some years of work there, I wish to provide a first-hand account on the philosophy that’s allowed the space agency to produce some of the world’s most reliable software, and I’ll frame their attitude towards programming with a set of four assumptions I think they make for programmers in the workforce (and which I have experienced directly.)"

The 2017 top programming languages

According to IEEE (also see the TIOBE index):
http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/software/the-2017-top-programming-languages

UXD: Avoiding generic logos

"Ever see a logo for a brand and feel like you’ve seen it before, but for someone else? You’ve probably just come across a generic logo—a cliché in the logo game—a been-there-done-that, uninspired graphic that isn’t doing much for the brand it represents."

Details:
https://en.99designs.pt/blog/tips/generic-logos/

IoT: Enterprise IoT Solutions and Platform Technology (ThingWorx)

The Short Story

ThingWorx, Enterprise IoT Solutions and Platform Technology (from PTC)

Quoting:
"ThingWorx was purpose-built from the ground up for the Internet of Things. It contains the most complete set of integrated IoT-specific development tools and capabilities available, offering the industry’s deepest functional capabilities.  ThingWorx makes it easy to develop and deliver powerful Enterprise IoT solutions that deliver transformative business value.

The extensive ecosystem of ThingWorx partners exists to create and extend smart, connected capabilities to all things for all industries. The economic impact that the Internet of Things will have on product makers, factories, and other complex systems such as smart cities is projected by McKinsey to reach $11.1 trillion a year by 2025. To capture this value, IoT solutions will be formed of many parts and players, from sensor and hardware providers, to independent software vendors (ISVs) and System Integrators. ThingWorx provides the technology foundation to organizations to capture real value that will transform the way they compete, and the way they work."

The Long Story

Forrester Wave IoT Software Platforms Report | PTC

Other players (per strength categories) include:
- IBM, Microsoft, GE;
- SAP, Amazon Web Services, Cisco Jasper;
- LogMeIn, ExoSite, Ayla Networks, Zebra Technologies.
(lower strength according to Forrester Report, see quadrant image in the Forrester Wave Report).

Security: CyberEssentials Plus?

The Short Story 

"The UK Government's Cyber Essentials scheme is designed to make the UK a safer place to conduct business online. The Cyber Essentials scheme identifies some fundamental technical security controls that an organisation needs to have in place to help defend against Internet-borne threats." (source here)

What does it have with Software Development? Well, security is a quality attribute of an information system (and, in parts, of the code being developed to build it, if applicable). So even though - if you read more below - there are lots of measures related to infra-structure (e.g. firewalls), some of them will impact the architecture, the code you are building, and the way you are installing and configuring some of the components of your system. So you as a Software Engineer must be aware of it (so that errors spotted by the latter certification attempts, or even worse, business faults do not occur because of you (your work).

The Long Story

The scheme consists of five baseline controls that businesses should have in place as their presence reduces the risk of data breaches from internet based attacks.

These five controls are:

1. Boundary Firewalls
2. Secure Configuration
3. Access Control
4. Malware Protection
5. Patch Management

Being certified for Cyber Essentials is now mandated for businesses that require access to UK Government information.

The Cyber Essentials scheme has two parts:

1) Cyber Essentials - A first stage that conducts an external vulnerability scan accompanied with a questionnaire, which ensures that internal processes are in place to ensure that best practice is in use. Once this stage has been passed a company is certified as passing Cyber Essentials.

2) Cyber Essentials Plus - The second stage is the Cyber Essentials Plus certification. This encompasses a detailed assessment of your infrastructure, with detailed examination of the technologies and servers in use within the company. Once a company had demonstrated that they have created a secure environment they will gain the Cyber Essentials Plus Badge.

Context is certified to provide both assessments for UK businesses." (source, links below)

Additional information 

Cyber Essentials Scheme: overview - GOV.UK
MTI_Cyber_Essentials_Scheme.pdf (PDF)

Cyber Essentials Plus

Hardware: micro:bit Education Foundation what?

https://www.element14.com/community/community/stem-academy/microbit/blog/2017/07/07/celebrating-12-months-of-bbc-microbit

"We knew that the micro:bit was a special project when we first started working with the BBC" he explains. "These statistics just show how special it is. The micro:bit devices, the coding platforms, the teaching resources and the wider eco-system are all there to encourage children to take the next step forward in STEM education, and we can now show what a real difference our hard work has made to teachers and children around the UK."

Quoting:
""We're also proud to be the exclusive manufacturing and distribution partner for the micro:bit Education Foundation, and we have launched the micro:bit in Europe, USA, Canada, Singapore and Hong Kong already, with many more countries following over the next few months. In countries as diverse as Iceland, Croatia, Singapore and Lithuania, the micro:bit has already been chosen for large scale STEM engagement, and we expect more to follow shortly. The micro:bit is truly changing the face of STEM education around the world - and we're very proud to be playing our part.""

 

Architecture: Cubesats explained

Modular architectures (highly reusable designs) allow for the creation of new market segments to explore. A good example are Cubesats:
https://www.space.com/29320-cubesats-spacecraft-tech-explained-infographic.html

Quoting:
"The CubeSat program began in 1999 as a collaboration between California Polytechnic State University and Stanford University. The goal was to design a standard for picosatellites, tiny Earth-orbiting boxes usually with a volume of about 61 cubic inches (1 liter) and a mass of about 2.9 lbs. (1.33 kilograms).

CubeSats are built in a variety of sizes, from 1U (one unit) up to three-plus units. Rails on the edges smooth the ride as the satellite is ejected from the P-POD deployer. Rectangular access doors are arrayed down the side of the satellite."

Architecture: Cutting down exploration costs through redesign

This is more related to Systems Engineering (not software Engineering) but is an interesting effort to drive down system costs (development and operation) through the development of a new, ground breaking architecture to explore the moon, and from there the solar system:
https://www.space.com/37464-moon-express-solar-system-exploration.html

Quoting:
"Therefore, the potential exists to cut space-exploration costs significantly — for example, by an order of magnitude or so on MX-9 missions, Richards said.

"That's when you get a radical price reduction — a collapse, really, of the costs down to hundreds of thousands of dollars a kilogram [of payload to the lunar surface] from the millions that it is today for smaller systems," he told Space.com. "I really hope that we're able to do for lunar access what cubesats did for access to low Earth orbit.""

UXD: Avoiding generic logos

"Ever see a logo for a brand and feel like you’ve seen it before, but for someone else? You’ve probably just come across a generic logo—a cliché in the logo game—a been-there-done-that, uninspired graphic that isn’t doing much for the brand it represents."

Details:
https://en.99designs.pt/blog/tips/generic-logos/

UXD: Seven types of logos?

"A logo is an image that symbolizes your business. But did you know there are 7 different types of logos?"

https://www.google.pt/amp/s/99designs.com/blog/tips/types-of-logos/amp/