University of Houston
Department of Computer Science

In partial fullfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Master of Science


Mahesh Kalambi
will defend his thesis

Development Of A Graphical Software Analysis Tool Using Software Engineering Concepts For Corporate-Wide System Engineers


Abstract

Comprehension and maintenance of code is the most difficult issue facing system engineers in the industry today. Supporting documentation that describes the operation of the software in adequate detail is frequently unavailable. Companies still develop software haphazardly, without any software engineering processes, and as a result, the quality of the software suffers.
The objective of this thesis is to investigate and develop graphical software tools that provide system engineers with the means to analyze and understand computer programs written in the C programming language using a structured software engineering concept. The software tool developed takes a software project and generates a call-graph that is understandable to the user.
Two important software analysis blocks resulted from this research - a robust parser and an easy to use graphical interface. An important conclusion, well known but rarely adapted is that using a structured software engineering process it is possible to develop robust software and a quality product. Programs are comprehended quicker by using the tools developed in this research.


Date: Monday, March 6, 2000
Time: 9:00 AM
Place: 550-PGH


Faculty, students, and the general public are invited
Thesis Advisor: Dr. J.C. Huang