Xref: utzoo comp.sys.next:6888 comp.software-eng:3879 Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!samsung!xylogics!merk!alliant!linus!community-chest!mitchell From: mitchell@community-chest.uucp (George Mitchell) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next,comp.software-eng Subject: Re: Software-IC Catalog Summary: Hardware != S/W platform Keywords: hardware domains Message-ID: <112637@linus.mitre.org> Date: 6 Jul 90 18:40:39 GMT References: <5320@stpstn.UUCP> <23113@boulder.Colorado.EDU> Sender: usenet@linus.mitre.org Reply-To: mitchell@community-chest.mitre.org (George Mitchell) Followup-To: comp.sys.next Organization: MITRE-McLean Software Engineering Laboratory Lines: 37 In article <23113@boulder.Colorado.EDU> scotth@boulder.Colorado.EDU (Scott Henninger) wrote: ` - Hardware IC's operate within a single domain, software works in many ` ` - This causes the number of potential software IC's to escalate, ` causing a scaling problem in retrieving useful, usable IC's ` `Let's face it, hardware IC's work so well in part because they are used `to create only one kind of machine - essentially a general platform for `software. [Note: Once you get into specialized hardware or analog `circuitry, you're working at a level of abstraction about equal to `programming languages, with similar problems.] I suspect that part of the problem here may come from too literal and narrow interpretation of the term "software IC". It is my impression that the term was chosen to reflect the advancement of engineering from basic materials (metals/bits) to elementary components (resistors/ assembly language words) to (circuit boards/3GL words) to (SSI ICs/ FORTRAN libraries) to (MSI ICs/shrinkwrap COTS) to (LSI ICs/?) .... If we were to look at the hardware portion of some system outside the domain of software platforms, we should find examples of higher level abstraction than that of the S/W component. For example, the hardware in a stereo system should include some standard complex components (not custom parts used only in this particular system) in the controls, display, amplifiers, power supplies, etc. I would expect the same to be true in any mass produced system today. The individuals designing and implementing those systems are not working in all domains (as some S/W professionals do) but specialize in audio, RF communications, power, and even Brad Cox's favorite, plumbing. The problem with S/W then is not that we deal with so many domains, but that we do not adequately discriminate among the many domains. -- George Mitchell, MITRE, MS Z676, 7525 Colshire Dr, McLean, VA 22102 email: gmitchel@mitre.org [alt: mitchell@community-chest.mitre.org] vmail: 703/883-6029 FAX: 703/883-5519