RESUMEN

If we look at the tools we use to convert source code into executable format, we can get an accurate picture of the abstraction level that programmers face during construction and maintenance (where the largest chunk of software development effort takes place). Collecting data from the building of 7,000 application programs showed that most CPU time is spent compiling C and C++ code using tools with roots in the 1970s and 1980s. To see order-of-magnitude productivity improvements, we must raise our code's level of abstraction by adopting more modern technologies such as domain-specific languages, general purpose declarative languages, and executable UML.

RESUMEN

This unusual experience report about mining and documenting patterns describes lessons learned from writing a set of patterns. Many times, pattern stories report on an author's expertise and creation of a set of patterns and their application in that area of expertise. When Linda Rising and Mary Lynn Manns were working on a collection of patterns for introducing patterns, they built on their experience and looked to others' successes—uncovering new patterns and seeing examples, stories, and known uses of the patterns they had discovered. After their book Fearless Change: Patterns for Introducing New Ideas was published, Rising produced a patterns hand book for agricultural innovations. This experience gave her a broader and deeper understanding of what they had written. This article is part of a special issue on software patterns.