HR: 0800h
AN: IN31A-0075    [Abstracts]
TI: Measuring the Costs and Benefits of Reuse: Building a Data Server Using Existing Software
AU: * Gallagher, J
EM: jgallagher@opendap.org
AF: OPeNDAP, Inc., 165 DEAN KNAUSS DR., NARRAGANSETT, RI 02882-1124, United States
AU: West, P
EM: pwest@ucar.edu
AF: NCAR/ESSL/HAO, P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307, United States
AU: Potter, N
EM: npotter@opendap.org
AF: OPeNDAP, Inc., 165 DEAN KNAUSS DR., NARRAGANSETT, RI 02882-1124, United States
AU: Garcia, J
EM: jgarcia@ucar.edu
AF: NCAR/ESSL/HAO, P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307, United States
AU: Fox, P
EM: pfox@ucar.edu
AF: NCAR/ESSL/HAO, P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307, United States
AB: OPeNDAP, in a partnership with NCAR/ESSL/HAO, has released a data server whose design and implementation was largely based on the reuse of existing software from earlier projects. These projects, OPeNDAP's data server and the Earth System Grid II data server, focused on different communities and over time each became substantial pieces of software. The effort to merge these and build a single server which addressed the combined needs of these different communities hinged not only on both groups working effectively together, but on their ability to leverage the existing software and reuse it in a new design. Here we discuss the rationale for merging the two efforts and provide measurements (using common software engineering metrics) of the cost and complexity of the original systems and compare those to the resulting system. We include a measure of the new software that had to be developed to realize the goal of combining the two groups' servers. Furthermore, we evaluate the portion of the effort devoted to new features added as a result of evolving requirements versus previously existing features which had to be re-implemented to enable the new server to function.
DE: 0520 Data analysis: algorithms and implementation
DE: 0525 Data management
DE: 9805 Instruments useful in three or more fields
DE: 9820 Techniques applicable in three or more fields
SC: Earth and Space Science Informatics [IN]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting