How to find stuff for your Project Omer F. Rana “For a job well done, first you must sharpen your tools”

Why? Undertake project in limited time Knowledge of tools essential - prepare for future The “Re-invent the wheel” syndrome The “Re-invent the wheel” AND “I can hack it” syndrome The “Re-invent the wheel” AND “don’t know where to start” syndrome

What you should look for Program Development –Use of existing libraries –Use of other similar projects Writing Report Program Documentation Testing and Evaluation Use this process to learn about “the software development process”

Program Development Software development tools –Compilers/Editors –Integrated Development Environments Software debugging and evaluation tools –Debugging and program checkpointing Documentation tools –Gantt/Pert chart, Documentation

Program Development Support Use favourite IDE - but test at University Freeware / Shareware Talk to your colleagues, your supervisor Read trade press - frequently scan Web sites Good starting point - especially for Java

How do I look? Look for software categories in Yahoo/Altavista Talk to your colleagues about programming problems - often! - “share experience” Visit the library and look at trade press: IEEE Spectrum, IEE Computing & Control, Dr Dobs Journal

Some Web sites