Subscribe to our e-mail newsletters
For more info on a specific newsletter, click the title. Details will be displayed in a new window.
Application/Web Development
Computerworld Daily News (First Look and Wrap-Up)
Computerworld Blogs Newsletter
The Weekly Top 10
More E-Mail Newsletters 
Computerworld 2007Subscribe to Computerworld
40 years of the most authoritative source of news and information for IT leaders.

Code Reuse Gets Easier

An effective code-reuse program requires both good code asset management tools and good policies.
 

Sign up to receive Security Resource Alerts

July 28, 2003 (Computerworld) -- The deputy CIO at a major aerospace company had worked hard to get her company into software reuse. She hired reuse librarians, trained developers in reuse and object-oriented methods, and overhauled the company's software development methodology. Her goal was to have 60% of the code in new systems come from a library of reusable components within 12 months. But at the end of that time, the figure stood at just 6%.
"They were doing all the right things technically," says Richard Soley, chairman and CEO of Object Management Group Inc., a standards consortium in Needham, Mass. "But when I asked her how she measured the productivity of her developers, she said the same way they always had -- by lines of code generated. And making code available for reuse just takes away from writing more lines."
Not changing programmer incentives and culture along with the technology is the No. 1 mistake companies make in software reuse, Soley says.
Diebold Inc. in North Canton, Ohio, is getting better results from its reuse program than the aerospace company did. Richard King, a senior software applications support engineer, says Diebold has seen a whopping fivefold improvement on the speed of development of new applications by using its "toolbox of reusable assets."
The toolbox holds components as simple as "read-me" text files and as complex as Java and .Net components. It uses Component Manager Enterprise Edition (CMEE), a repository manager from Flashline Inc. in Cleveland that creates searchable indexes of software-related assets and maintains metadata and use history about those assets.
CMEE spans multiple source-code repositories at Diebold, including Microsoft Visual SourceSafe and PVCS Version Manager from Merant Inc. in Hillsboro, Ore.
Although programmers at Diebold are expected to make software reusable whenever feasible, the company has a special development group dedicated to reuse. It looks for reuse needs, develops components accordingly and puts them into CMEE.
Getting developers to tap into the reuse library thereafter isn't difficult, King says. "Deadlines are so tight now that they would never be able to meet them without aggressively reusing," he explains.
Sharing Made Easier
Programmers have been swapping code for as long as software has existed.

Continued...
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | NEXT  



Print this Story Send Us Feedback E-mail this Story Digg! Digg this Story Slashdot this Story
Sidebar: Collaboration: Where Reuse Tools Falter
Sidebar: A Software Reuse Toolbox
Sidebar: Patterns Form Code-Reuse Fabric
Code Reuse Gets Easier
"Now that Hewlett-Packard and Electronic Data Systems have decided to tie the knot, where does that put them -- and..." Read more...
"More and more companies are depending on their development's research to come from universities...." Read more...
Read more Development posts or See all Blogs
HP-EDS deal spurs range of customer reactions
FAQ: What does the HP-EDS deal really mean?
Microsoft fixes critical Windows, Word flaws
More top stories...
Review: Which 3G network is the best?
IBM set to test the fastest computer in the world
Report: Billionaire investor Carl Icahn mulls a proxy fight at Yahoo
Mistakes such as putting down co-workers or burning bridges when you resign are surefire ways to darken your career prospects. Here's how to avoid them
Hype and promises abound in the IT world, but these six breakthroughs really will change your life, says author and former IT manager John Brandon.
Baby boomers are retiring and taking their knowledge with them. Why do so few in IT seem to care?
Computerworld editors share stories of their first PCs, including some classics and some real clunkers -- then we ask readers to share their early-PC tales.
Reviews, analyses, how-tos, visual tours, hot issues and predictions about Microsoft's new OS.
Four years from now, the IT field will be a vastly different place. Will you be ready?
All Zones
Application Performance Zone
Enterprise-Class Security Zone
Enterprise Solutions Zone
The File Data Management Zone
Grid Computing on Windows Zone
Security Management Zone
ITIL Best Practices Zone
The SAS Zone
Storage Virtualization Zone
The Data Center Management Zone

Ads by TechWords

See your link here
Computerworld Report : Smart Storage
Download this Computerworld report, free for a limited time, compliments of HP.
(Source: Computerworld) Faced with growing demands, immature tools and a confusing array of technologies, IT decision-makers have to make some strategic choices. Learn how to avoid the pitfalls in this Computerworld report, a $49.95 value, available free for a limited time, compliments of HP.
Download this executive briefing download
Transformational Analytics: Virtualizing IT Environments
Download this white paper, free, compliments of CiRBA.
(Source: CiRBA) The overwhelming complexity of the modern data center compounds the problem of how to safely virtualize IT environments. This paper provides an in-depth guide to analyzing complex environments for virtualization opportunities, particularly within production environments where stability, service levels and performance are of the upmost performance.
Download this white paper go
Rapid, Widespread Adoption of CMMI at Lockheed Martin with Application Lifecycle Management
Rapid, Widespread Adoption of CMMI at Lockheed Martin with Application Lifecycle Management
Get this webcast now
Go to the webcast 
White Papers
Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services.
New Fujitsu High-End Itanium Windows- and Linux-Based PRIMEQUEST Servers Offer the Utmost in High Availability
New Fujitsu High-End Itanium-Based PRIMEQUEST Servers Offer Industry-Leading System Management for Linux and Windows
Symantec State of the Data Center Report 2007
View more whitepapers