Increasingly, developers and testers are looking to fields other than pure computer sciences to find solutions to prevailing and new software problems, especially in fields such as automobiles, heavy industries, etc. In the present scenario, given the increasing importance of embedded systems in all walks of life, one cannot solve pressing software issues using just one approach or system. For coming up with a software solutions package and related product engineering services, several different technologies need to be brought together seamlessly. Engineering concepts from seemingly unrelated fields can be used to anticipate and eliminate software defects.
The last couple of decades have seen tectonic shifts in the way different sectors of the software world interact. Embedded systems have moved from compartmentalized, goal specific functions to holistic, process-oriented approaches. Nowadays, it is not just the development of the software that plays a crucial role in the entire process, developed product engineering solutions have to be incorporated into existing systems to yield different results for different clients. With clients from fields as widely different as automotive to consumer goods, home appliances to defence manufacturers, software programmers need to know, quite simply put, what they are developing for and the uses to which their product will be put.
An important aspect of this new way of developing software is the relation between existing architecture and code languages. A lot of what needs to be crafted is already available, given the proliferation of the “cloud”. Coders these days do not have to start from scratch, they do a lot of mix- and- match and build upon existing frameworks. The presence of open source software has meant that programmers can now increasingly focus on providing niche solutions and how to take the product service a step further, rather than spending hours focussing on stringing together the right code. The happier the client, the more proficient is the code.
Agile Programming, and the present scenario: There has been a significant bit if rethinking and restructuring around Agile programming. As already stated, this innovative approach to software and embedded firmware development has been kick- started by the wider use of cloud programming. Apps, bridging the gap between minimal code and maximum utility and interfacing, are designed mostly through replication of existing open source code. Bugs are being thrown up every single day and snippets of code are being discarded and new sections being added, in an effort to wean out all code related issues. This is an exciting time for the programming and app development industry. However, there is barely any standardisation and hence, there is no yardstick for measuring the effectiveness of the codes being formulated. Furthermore, the competence and expertise of those working in this industry is also becoming a major roadblock, with expert talent in short supply.
Our lives and the software industry are now governed by the application: Look around, and you will notice that almost every aspect of your life has been overtaken by some app. The sheer number of apps that are being released and operated in today’s date and the variety of functions they serve has exploded. And this is just the beginning. We are looking at a new era of embedded software development. Just a couple of decades back, applications were the assisting systems in a larger business setup, aiding and abetting systems and making “regular office work” easier. Then everything changed and the IT guys became much more than just “support staff”. Presently, however, businesses are increasingly relying on the app (which is often the only customer interface) to make money. Over the next few years, this change will become even more aggressive. Data centres will spread over the virtual world, and apps, data, codes will proliferate over cloud platforms.
We are witnessing the emergence of elastic hardware: Elastic hardware is solving many of the problems of integration faced by open source software as initial capital costs are getting lesser and lesser. Product management is now an executive and manager level function and not a disposable appendage to the business.
