Synchronizing Development Teams with Drifting Software Systems: A Decomposability-Based Theory of Evolutionary Mechanisms

The Department of Defense has defined C4I architectures in terms of operational, system, and technical architectures. The definition, implementation, and successful fielding of systems which are compliant with the architectural framework depends on the successful determination and refinement of first, the operational architecture and second the articulation of the system architecture. System architecture is an amalgamation of both the technical requirements as determined by the technical architecture and the operational requirements as defined in the operational architecture. The US Army CECOM RDEC under the auspices of the Combined Arms Command and Control (CAC2) Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD) has developed and refined a process by which the operational users can articulate their operational architecture in terms which are useful to the material development community and then ultimately provide feedback to the technical solutions provided by a disciplined system engineering process. The CECOM RDEC has pioneered efforts relating to the use of various modeling tools and laboratory assets to provide analysis of current and emerging tactical communications infrastructures. The paper explains the CECOM system architecture process and how it can be adapted to the joint arena. A key to understanding this process is an explanation of the process by which designers of communications architectures can identify and define the joint operational C4I requirements for military operations.

4 - Applied issues of chaotic dynamics in the management of unique evolutionary systems

The time and space evolution of sequence architecture and depositional systems has attracted much attention in the geological field. Meanwhile, due to the recent excellence, the Oligocene lacustrine rift basin takes a key position during geological research in Huanghekou depression of Bohai Bay Basin in east China. However, the systematic researches of the depositional sequence of Dongying formation in Huanghekou depression appear little, thus this study aims that using many seismic lines, complemented by well logs and cores to thoroughly analyze the time and space allocation of depositional sequence of Huanghekou depression and its major controlling factor, base-level change, in a typical rift lacustrine basin. The Oligocene Dongying formation in this article will be divided into three composite sequences on the basis of unconformities on basin margins and correlative conformities in the basin center. Every sequence is composed of a regional depositional cycle from transgression with an onlapping lacustrine expanding systems tract (EST) to regression with a prograding highstand systems tract (HST). And five sequences can be further identified by subordinate discontinuous boundaries in Huanghekou depression. The evolution of depositional systems is associated with base-level change within sequences. In Lower and Middle Dongying formation (ESTSQ3, HSTSQ3, ESTSQ2), depositional systems are dominated by braid river delta and sandy beach-bars. During the late period of Dongying formation (HSTSQ2, SQ1), depositional systems are characterized by meandering river delta or braid river delta deposits. And base-level change is one of major controlling factors, of which the shape and scale control the development of the depositional sequences. Base-level changes, via affecting the A/S, directly control the depositional states and determine the unique depositional sequences structure: in the northern steep slope, multiple meandering river deltas systems exist. In the middle of the depression, the large areas of beach bars can be found. And the depositional system is continuously developed with the large-scale braided river delta in the southern gentle slope.

The architecture of the Internet is based on a number of principles, including the self-describing datagram packet, the end to end arguments, diversity in technology and global addressing. As the Internet has moved from a research curiosity to a recognized component of mainstream society, new requirements have emerged that suggest new design principles, and perhaps suggest that we revisit some old ones. This paper explores one important reality that surrounds the Internet today: different stakeholders that are part of the Internet milieu have interests that may be adverse to each other, and these parties each vie to favor their particular interests. We call this process "the tussle". Our position is that accommodating this tussle is crucial to the evolution of the network's technical architecture. We discuss some examples of tussle, and offer some technical design principles that take it into account.

A challenge of existing program comprehension approaches is to provide consistent and flexible representations for software systems. Maintainers have to match their mental models with the different representations these tools provide. In this paper, we present a novel approach that addresses this issue by providing a consistent ontological representation for both source code and documentation. The ontological representation unifies information from various sources, and therefore reduces the maintainers' comprehension efforts. In addition, representing software artifacts in a formal ontology enables maintainers to formulate hypotheses about various properties of software systems. These hypotheses can be validated through an iterative exploration of information derived by our ontology inference engine. The implementation of our approach is presented in detail, and a case study is provided to demonstrate the applicability of our approach during the architectural evolution of a Web site content management system

Increasingly, more and more software systems must make dynamic reconfiguration of their architectures at runtime to adapt to the changing conditions. The runtime verification of architecture evolution is necessary to guarantee the conformance to the specification. In this paper, we propose a runtime model checker that supports dynamic reconfiguration of software architectures taking advantage of linear temporal logic and aspect-oriented programming. The runtime model checker is a concurrent thread with the execution thread of the dynamic software, and is an automaton which can accept exactly the set of executions that satisfy the given specification defined by LTL. So the proposed runtime model checker can monitor and verify the architecture evolution of a dynamic software system continuously at runtime.

Driven by the global “dual-carbon” goals, hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are being rapidly promoted as a zero-emission transportation solution. However, their large-scale application is constrained by issues such as inefficient operation, poor information flow between vehicles and stations, and potential safety hazards, which are caused by insufficient intelligence of hydrogen refueling stations. This study aims to address these problems by deeply integrating Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) technology with hydrogen refueling stations, thereby building a safe, efficient, and low-carbon hydrogen energy application ecosystem to promote the global transition to zero-carbon transportation. Firstly, through literature review and technical analysis, this study expounds on the core technologies and process flows of current hydrogen refueling stations, as well as the technical architecture and development evolution of C-V2X technology. Then, based on the analysis of relevant literature, it proposes a “vehicle-road-station-cloud” collaborative architecture that integrates C-V2X with hydrogen refueling stations. Combined with 5G communication and big data technologies, it elaborates on the implementation path for achieving real-time data interaction among hydrogen refueling stations, hydrogen-powered vehicles, and road infrastructure. This interconnection mode enables hydrogen refueling stations to obtain real-time information of surrounding vehicles, which plays an important role in building a safe, efficient, and low-carbon hydrogen energy application ecosystem and promoting the global transition to zero-carbon transportation. Finally, the future development prospects and potential of this scheme are put forward.

Open-source software systems are becoming progressively vital these days. Since open-source softwares are usually developed in a different management style, the quality of their architectures needs to be studied. ISO/IEC SQuaRe quality standard characterized stability as one of the sub-characteristics of maintainability. Unstable software architecture could cause the software to require high maintenance cost and effort. Almost all stability related studies target the package level. To our knowledge, there has been no proposed work in literature that addresses the stability at the system architecture level.In this work, we propose a simple, yet efficient, technique that is based on carefully aggregating the package level stability in order to measure the change in the architecture level stability as the architecture evolution happens. The proposed method can be used to further study the cause behind the positive or negative architecture stability changes.

Understanding how giant and terrestrial planets form and evolve, what is their internal structure and that of their atmosphere, represents one of the major challenges of modern astronomy, which is directly connected to the ultimate search for life at the horizon 2030–2050. However, several astrophysical (understanding of the formation and physics of giant and terrestrial exoplanets), biological (identification of the best biomarkers) and technological (technical innovations for the new generations of telescopes and instruments) obstacles must be overcome. From the astrophysical point of view, it is indeed crucial to understand the mechanisms of formation and evolution of giant planets, including planet and disk interactions, which will completely sculpt the planetary architectures and thus dominate the formation of terrestrial planets, especially in regions around the host star capable of supporting life. It is also important to develop dedicated instrumentation and techniques to study in their totality the population of giant and terrestrial planets, but also to reveal in the near future the first biological markers of life in the atmospheres of terrestrial planets. In that perspective, direct imaging from ground-based observatories or in space is playing a central role in concert with other observing techniques. In this paper, I will briefly review the genesis of this observing technique, the main instrumental innovation and challenges, stellar targets and surveys, to then present the main results obtained so far about the physics and the mechanisms of formation and evolution of young giant planets and planetary system architectures. I will then present the exciting perspectives offered by the upcoming generation of planet imagers about to come online, particularly on the future extremely large telescopes. On the timescale of a human Life, we may well be witnessing the first discovery of an exoplanet and the first detection of indices of life in the atmosphere of a nearby exo-Earth!

The software architecture is typically defined as the fundamental organization of the system embodied in its components, their relationships to one another and to the system's environment. It also encompases principles governing the system's design and evolution. In order to manage the architecture of a large software system the architect needs a holistic model that supports continuous integration and verification for all system artifacts. In earlier papers we proposed a unified graph-based approach to the problem of managing knowledge about the architecture of a software system. In this paper we demonstrate that this approach facilitates convenient and efficient project measurement. First, we show how existing software metrics can be translated into our model in a way that is independent of the programming language. Second, we introduce new metrics that cross the programming language boundaries and are easily implementable using our approach. We conclude by demonstrating how the new model can be implemented using existing tools. In particular, graph databases are a convenient implementation of an architectural repository. Graph query languages and graph algorithms are an effective way to define metrics and specialized graph views.

This systematic literature review presents a comprehensive analysis of contemporary developments in energy-efficient transformer design tailored for integration within modern smart grid infrastructures. As the global energy landscape transitions toward decentralized, intelligent, and low-carbon systems, the operational expectations for transformers have expanded considerably. No longer limited to conventional voltage regulation, transformers must now address fluctuating load profiles, reverse power flows from distributed energy resources, harmonic distortion, and integration with digital monitoring and control frameworks. This review systematically evaluates the current state of research by analyzing 87 peer-reviewed articles published between 2013 and 2022, selected through a rigorous process guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 protocol. The review investigates several key dimensions of transformer innovation, including the adoption of amorphous and nanocrystalline core materials for core loss reduction, the deployment of high-temperature superconducting windings for enhanced load efficiency, and the rapid evolution of solid-state transformer architectures enabling bidirectional and high-frequency operation. It also explores the application of IoT and wireless sensor networks in condition monitoring, contributing to improved predictive maintenance and reduced lifecycle costs. Furthermore, the analysis highlights the convergence of technical innovation with environmental priorities, as evidenced by the increasing use of biodegradable ester fluids, modular eco-designs, and life-cycle assessment (LCA) frameworks aimed at reducing carbon footprints and improving recyclability. In addition to synthesizing advancements, the review identifies underexplored areas in the existing literature, such as the scarcity of long-term performance evaluations, limited empirical testing under fault or abnormal conditions, integration complexities in hybrid designs, and region-specific barriers in infrastructure and policy adoption. By consolidating these insights, the review provides an essential reference point for researchers, engineers, utility planners, and policymakers seeking to optimize transformer performance, support regulatory compliance, and enable the evolution of sustainable, resilient, and future-ready power distribution systems.

This work systematically reviews the current status and development trends of autonomous vehicle chassis domain control systems across three dimensions: architecture, algorithms, and verification techniques. During the transformation toward intelligent vehicles, the limitations of traditional distributed electronic/electrical architectures in enhancing advanced autonomous driving capabilities have become apparent, prompting both industry and academia to shift focus toward the evolution of centralized domain control architectures. This study delves into the technical drivers and challenges underlying the evolution of chassis domain control systems from distributed to domain-centralized architectures. Building upon this foundation, it further explores the emerging trend toward zonal architecture. The study emphasizes hardware-software co-design strategies compliant with AUTOSAR standards. Through in-depth investigation and comprehensive evaluation, it conducts a holistic comparative analysis of traditional control methods—such as model-based predictive control and sliding mode control—alongside data-driven deep reinforcement learning strategies, examining their performance limits and application prospects within integrated vehicle chassis control systems. Finally, it systematically summarizes verification methodologies based on high-fidelity simulation (e.g., CARLA) and hardware-in-the-loop testing. This research aims to fill the current gap in integrating system-level architecture theory, providing a comprehensive technical blueprint and theoretical foundation for developing next-generation high-performance, high-safety intelligent chassis control systems.

Technical debt and system architecture: The impact of coupling on defect-related activity

Venom is a key innovation underlying the evolution of advanced snakes (Caenophidia). Despite this, very little is known about venom system structural diversification, toxin recruitment event timings, or toxin molecular evolution. A multidisciplinary approach was used to examine the diversification of the venom system and associated toxins across the full range of the approximately 100 million-year-old advanced snake clade with a particular emphasis upon families that have not secondarily evolved a front-fanged venom system ( approximately 80% of the 2500 species). Analysis of cDNA libraries revealed complex venom transcriptomes containing multiple toxin types including three finger toxins, cobra venom factor, cysteine-rich secretory protein, hyaluronidase, kallikrein, kunitz, lectin, matrix metalloprotease, phospholipase A(2), snake venom metalloprotease/a disintegrin and metalloprotease, and waprin. High levels of sequence diversity were observed, including mutations in structural and functional residues, changes in cysteine spacing, and major deletions/truncations. Morphological analysis comprising gross dissection, histology, and magnetic resonance imaging also demonstrated extensive modification of the venom system architecture in non-front-fanged snakes in contrast to the conserved structure of the venom system within the independently evolved front-fanged elapid or viperid snakes. Further, a reduction in the size and complexity of the venom system was observed in species in which constriction has been secondarily evolved as the preferred method of prey capture or dietary preference has switched from live prey to eggs or to slugs/snails. Investigation of the timing of toxin recruitment events across the entire advanced snake radiation indicates that the evolution of advanced venom systems in three front-fanged lineages is associated with recruitment of new toxin types or explosive diversification of existing toxin types. These results support the role of venom as a key evolutionary innovation in the diversification of advanced snakes and identify a potential role for non-front-fanged venom toxins as a rich source for lead compounds for drug design and development.

Distributed sensor networks, heterogeneous multiprocessing systems, different kinds of mobile devices pose increasing need for efficient power/performance optimization methods. To cope with load variations and runtime uncertainties present in the most of real-time systems today online optimization methods are becoming increasingly popular. We propose architecture of hardware module for load monitoring which should enable easier implementation of online power/performance optimization algorithms. Proposed module enables automatic load measurement on each processing element and exchange of these statistics among processors in the system. Adapted communication interface module which supports flexible heterogeneous processor network is also presented. Load measurement can be controlled from application layer which provides flexibility in defining jobs of interest for optimization process. System architecture with centralized load statistics processing for high level optimization increases flexibility leaving low level optimization decisions to each processor locally. Moreover architecture of the load monitoring module is the same in all processors and only difference between master and slave nodes is in application layer leaving a room for easy reconfiguration. Proposed hardware load monitor was implemented on Cyclone II FPGA with Nios II as a processor and OS-II operating system.