Category:Software

Overview
A software entity refers to a e-assessment software component.

Any application, tool, program or web-service which can be used within the e-assessment lifecycle is eligible to be stored as a software entity.

Although the major goal of FREMA is to facilitate the reuse of web services (to tie in with the JISC E-Framework), the model also stores details of software not implemented with web services.

Web Services
The term "web service" is open to broad interpretation. In terms of the JISC E-Framework context, a web service has the following characteristics
 * a discrete unit of executable code (written in either Java or .NET)
 * open source
 * can be called by another software program(s) (e.g. another web service)
 * has a well documented API (Application Programming Interface) which details the methods it publically exposes to other software programs
 * conforms to appropriate domain and technical interoperability standards

Non Web Services
Software not implemented with web services should also be registered in the reference model.

For example It is important such systems are represented, in order to record the range of e-assessment functionality currently available. Moreover, they are relevant to the gap analysis mechanism of FREMA, in that they may highlight esoteric functionality embedded inside a particular system, which has not yet been crystallized into one or more web-services.
 * a large commercial VLE system (e.g. Blackboard)
 * an individual application (e.g. PyAssess is a standalone QTI migration tool)
 * a front-end client which calls a one or more web-services (e.g. Item Bank Front End is a Ruby front end which calls semantic searching web services)

Attributes
Name – name of software component - use established acronym if appropriate (e.g. TOIA). If the component is a web service, then include the phrase "Web Service" in the name e.g. “Usage Data Generation Web Service”

Version – the version number e.g. 2.0 (don’t prefix with “v” or “version”)

Description – high level overview. Give as much information as possible about retrieving, downloading and running the component. Crucially, specify any requisite compile, run time or execution environments (e.g. a particular Java VM). Include your contact details if you are willing to answer enquiries about using the component.

Related Components and Associations
The following table identifies the other FREMA components to which Software is associated. Click on an association below to find out more information.

How to create a new Software component

 * Create a software entity to store information about one discrete software component. Both open source and commercial software should be represented.


 * If there is more than one available version of a component, then create a software entity for each version. You can inter-relate these versions via the “version” association (see below).


 * If this software component works in conjunction with other software components, then consider creating a system entity to group them together (logically). For example, you may have written an application comprising ten collaborating web services.

Note: An orchestration web service (e.g. one written in BPEL) which implements workflow should be set up as a software entity too.
 * 1) create a system entity
 * 2) create a software entity for each of the constituent web services
 * 3) create a “is part of “ association from each web service to the system entity

To create a new software component, enter a new name in the box below and press the Go button.

Software By System
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