James Noble

James Noble is Professor of Computer Science and Software Engineering at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

His research centres around software design. This includes the design of the users' interface, the parts of software that users have to deal with every day, and the programmers' interface, the internal structures and organisations of software that programmers see only when they are designing, building, or modifying software.

His research in both of these areas is coloured by my longstanding interest in object oriented approaches to design, and topics he has studies range from aliasing and object ownership, design patterns, agile methodology, via usability, visualisation and computer music, to postmodernism and the semiotics of programming.

Presentation: "The Lego Hypothesis"

Track: Architecture Quality (day 2)

Time: Thursday 09:00 - 10:00

Location: Metropolitan Ballroom

Abstract:

For decades, software engineering has "dreamed an impossible dream":
to build software from components as easily as children can build houses out of Lego bricks.

In this talk, we will imagine a world where that dream has been realised --- where software parts can be found in worldwide repositories, where most software is built by reusing existing software, and where software engineering has finally been freed from the mundane necessity of programming.

We will explore the philosophical and empirical underpinnings of this dream, and consider how software engineers and computer sciences could reposition themselves to respond to this imaginary world --- should it ever come to pass.

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