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3.6 Discussion Questions

1:

Suppose that a version of the A-7E software were to be developed for installation on a flight trainer version of the aircraft. This aircraft would carry no weapons, but it would teach pilots how to navigate using the onboard avionics. What structures of the architecture would have to change, and how?

2:

Chapter 7 will discuss using the architecture as a basis for incremental development: starting small and growing the system but having a working subset at all times. Propose the smallest subset of the A-7E software that still does something (correctly, in accordance with requirements) observable by the pilot. (A good candidate is displaying a value, such as current heading on some cockpit display.) Which modules do you need and which can you do without? Now propose three incremental additions to that subset and specify the development plan (i.e., which modules you need) for those.

3:

Suppose that monitors were added to ensure that correct values were being stored in the Data Banker and computed by the Function Drivers. If the monitors detected a disparity between the stored or computed values and what they computed as the correct values, they would signal an error. Show how each of the A-7E's architectural structures would change to accommodate this design. If you add modules, state the information-hiding criteria for placing them in the module hierarchy.

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