Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Microsoft Public License (Ms-PL)

This is the least restrictive of the Microsoft licenses and allows for distribution of compiled code for either commercial or non-commercial purposes under any license that complies with the Ms-PL. Redistribution of the source code itself is permitted only under the Ms-PL. Initially titled Microsoft Permissive License, it was renamed to Microsoft Public License while being reviewed for approval by the Open Source Initiative (OSI). The license was approved on October 12, 2007. According to the Free Software Foundation, it is a free software license and is compatible with the GNU GPL version 3. However, for new software, FSF asks to use an older free software license that serves the same purpose, like Apache License 2.0, “to combat license proliferation”.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Conceptual system

A conceptual system is simply a model. There is no limitations on this kind of model whatsoever except those of human imagination. If there is an experimentally verified correspondence between a conceptual system and a physical system then that conceptual system models the physical system. "values, ideas, and beliefs that make up every persons view of the world": that is a model of the world; a conceptual system that is a model of a physical system (the world). The person who has that model is a physical system.

In psychology and social work, when they talk about a conceptual system, they are referring to some person's model of the world, but if they try to understand that model, they end up making a model of that model, which is just a model of the person's behavior. In any case, this is exactly the purpose of the general term "conceptual systems".

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Systems engineering

Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering, that focuses on the development and organization of complex artificial systems. Systems engineering is defined by INCOSE as "a branch of engineering whose responsibility is creating and executing an interdisciplinary process to ensure that customer and stakeholder's needs are satisfied in a high quality, trustworthy, cost efficient and schedule compliant manner throughout a system's entire life cycle, from development to operation to disposal. This process is usually comprised of the following seven tasks: State the problem, Investigate alternatives, Model the system, Integrate, Launch the system, Assess performance, and Re-evaluate. The systems engineering process is not sequential: the tasks are performed in a parallel and iterative manner."

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Highway engineering

Highway engineering is the process of design and construction of efficient and safe highways and roads. It became prominent in the 20th century and has its roots in the discipline of civil engineering. Standards of highway engineering are continuously being improved. Concepts such as grade, surface texture, sight distance and radii of horizontal bends and vertical slopes in relation to design speed and in addition to interchange design are all important elements of highway engineering. Most developed nations have extensive highway networks.

Design policies standards used in the United States are typically based on publications of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials as well as research promulgated by the Transportation Research Board, the Institute of Transportation Engineers, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Department of Transportation