SECSE computing paradigm is sexy
A team of EU-funded researchers has created new methods, tools and techniques for system integrators and service providers in the software engineering sphere. The new computing paradigm developed by the SECSE ('Service Centric Systems Engineering') project, which received EUR 9.28 million under the 'Information Society Technologies' Thematic area of the EU's Sixth Framework Programme (FP6), can combine services to create powerful applications. Ultimately, European citizens and organisations will benefit from SECSE's work. According to the SECSE project partners, this innovative environment can offer improved, yet cheaper and more flexible application development. 'Most of the scientific work was driven by the needs of our industrial partners, and the principal one which integrates most of the bits of SECSE was based around the in-car journey service, a concept from Centro Ricerche Fiat (Fiat Research Centre),' explained SECSE member Peter Sawyer of the University of Lancaster in the UK. 'It integrated a lot of what we have done. It used both the design and runtime platforms. It looked a bit rough - it was a PC [personal computer] installed in the boot of a car - but it really worked. Not quite product ready, though.' The team said the system not only provides route services and mapping, but also offers information about car dealership or mechanic locations, and weather forecasts for specific routes. 'It was a combination of things like this, but one of the unique elements is that, if you are driving across Europe, the system could constantly negotiate for the best tool to do the job,' Mr Sawyer said. 'As you cross the border, if one service becomes weak, or supplies less detailed information, the SECSE system could instantly switch.' 'Or perhaps a service breaks down - SECSE will find an alternate supplier. Maybe you need to book a hotel, because your car will not be fixed before tomorrow. SECSE could find one, book the room and pay the deposit,' he added. According to the team, the model developed by SECSE could be expanded in order to benefit a growing number of services. Homeowners, for example, could use the services via mobile phones or pagers. The SECSE partners said academia is pleased with the project's results. 'I think we did some novel, valuable work and the academic community sees that,' Mr Sawyer remarked. The team's ideas were disseminated in various journals, as well as at conferences and seminars. The researchers said the work realised in the project will continue in future too. The project's development environment is an 'open source system' and is available for downloading. 'Nobody is going to go over to a completely service-oriented model, at least in the short term. It is too unfamiliar, and I think you will see some hybrids as people gradually move towards the service model more completely,' Mr Sawyer highlighted. 'The people who use those kinds of devices will probably be the first to see the end-user applications.' Coordinated by the Italian group Engineering SpA, the SECSE partners include KD Software in the Czech Republic, Centro Ricerche Fiat in Italy, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen in the Netherlands, Atos Origin in Spain, and European Microsoft Innovation Center (EMIC) GmbH.