Software Interfaces And Detailed Design Support

Software Interfaces And Detailed Design Supporting Activity: Design qualities

A software design is assessed in terms of design qualities such as sufficiency, robustness, flexibility, reusability, efficiency, and reliability. In your own words, describe the meaning of 1 or 2 of these qualities. Use examples or counterexamples on why it is important to have these qualities.

Why is software design necessary? Would it be more efficient for a software engineer to gather requirements and go straight to software construction? Discuss the pros and cons of such an approach.

Your company produces software that controls a robot arm for manufacturing. Name four classes that would be appropriate members of your company’s software framework. Explain your reasoning.

Complete the following, explaining under what circumstances you would use the following in detailed design: (a) Use activity diagrams when the logic _________. (b) Use pseudocode for a method when _________.

Describe in your own words the advantages of specifying preconditions, postconditions, and invariants. How do they help to increase the quality of functions?

Consider an application that helps manage a fabric store. Assume that the store sells fabrics and associated items such as buttons and ribbons. Give three to four robustness issues specific to this application. Explain your choices.

Paper For Above instruction

Software design plays a critical role in the development of reliable, maintainable, and efficient systems. Two essential design qualities are robustness and reusability. Robustness refers to a system's ability to handle unexpected conditions gracefully without crashing or producing incorrect results. For example, a robust payment processing system can manage invalid credit card information or network failures by providing appropriate error messages and recovery options, rather than failing silently or terminating unexpectedly. In contrast, a less robust system might crash or behave unpredictably under such circumstances, leading to data corruption or user dissatisfaction. Reusability, on the other hand, pertains to designing components or modules that can be used across different parts of the application or even in different projects. For instance, developing a generic data validation library that can be applied in multiple applications saves development time and ensures consistency. Without reusability, developers may need to duplicate similar code, increasing maintenance overhead and the risk of inconsistencies.

Software design is necessary because it provides a blueprint for building systems that meet user requirements efficiently and reliably. Gathering requirements and jumping directly to coding might seem time-efficient initially; however, it often results in poorly structured, hard-to-maintain code that may not align with user needs or system constraints. A well-thought-out design helps identify potential issues early, facilitates communication among team members, and improves overall quality. Although detailed design demands more upfront effort, it reduces costly modifications later in development and fosters long-term system sustainability. Skipping this phase can lead to ambiguous implementation, increased bugs, and technical debt that hampers future enhancements.

For a software framework controlling a robot arm in manufacturing, appropriate classes include: (1) MotorController, responsible for managing the speed and position of motors; (2) SensorModule, handling data from position or force sensors; (3) MotionPlanner, determining optimal paths for the robot arm; and (4) ErrorHandler, managing exceptions and safety protocols. These classes encapsulate core functionalities needed for precise, safe operation, and modular design enables easier maintenance and upgrades.

In detailed design, activity diagrams are particularly useful when the logic involves complex workflows or sequences of actions, such as operational procedures where decision points and concurrent activities are common. Pseudocode is preferable when implementing specific methods or algorithms that require clarity in control flow without concern for syntax, allowing developers to focus on logic without language restrictions. For example, pseudocode simplifies translating algorithms into actual code, while activity diagrams provide visual understanding of process flows.

Specifying preconditions, postconditions, and invariants enhances code quality by clarifying what each function expects and guarantees. Preconditions specify the required state before execution; postconditions define the expected state after; invariants maintain conditions that should always hold true. These contracts enable early detection of errors, facilitate testing, and support debugging, ultimately leading to more reliable software. For example, asserting that a variable remains within an acceptable range ensures the function behaves correctly and prevents unexpected behaviors.

Managing a fabric store involves robustness issues such as inventory inconsistencies if stock levels are not synchronized, data integrity issues if customer or sales data are improperly validated, handling of concurrent transactions to prevent data races or lost updates, and error handling for failed payments or system crashes. Addressing these problems ensures operational continuity, accurate record-keeping, and customer satisfaction, which are vital for retail success.

References

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