Object-oriented framework for software development of scheduling applications
https://doi.org/10.15514/ISPRAS-2017-29(3)-14
Abstract
Theory of scheduling and project planning is widely applied in diverse scientific and industrial areas. To effectively solve application-specific problems, it is necessary to state right objectives as well as to take into account a lot of factors, such as task execution models, precedence relationship between tasks, resource limitations, directive deadlines, working calendars, conditions for financial and logistics support of project tasks, specific spatio-temporal requirements, et al. Therefore, the development of scheduling applications becomes more and more complicated purposes, risky and costly ones. In this paper, we present an innovative object-oriented Scheduling Application Framework (SAF) designed to simplify and accelerate the software development processes. The presented SAF framework is a system of C++ classes that implement basic abstractions of the scheduling theory as well as provide ready-to-use components to build target applications of typical scheduling functionality. As a general-purpose mathematical library, the framework enables to set and solve so-called RCPSP problems (Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Problem) in extended statements peculiar to popular project management systems. Branch and bound and linear dispatching algorithms have been implemented and included as a part of the framework. A dozen of heuristics has been implemented and has been provided by the framework too to solve large-scale problems more effectively. Thereby target application developers can adjust the application solver properly taking into account application-specific issues and making the search of suboptimum schedules more effective. As a software toolkit the framework enables developers to implement own components and to configure target applications in unified and flexible manner. Due to object-oriented paradigm, multi-layer architecture and class package organization, the application development takes relatively small efforts. The SAF framework has been successively validated during development of a software application intended for visual modeling and planning of projects under diverse spatial-temporal, resource and finance constraints. Due to achieved advantages, the framework looks promising for development of both sophisticated multi-disciplinary systems and effective domain-specific scheduling applications.
About the Authors
A. S. Anichkin
Institute for System Programming of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
V. A. Semenov
Institute for System Programming of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (State University)
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
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Review
For citations:
Anichkin A.S., Semenov V.A. Object-oriented framework for software development of scheduling applications. Proceedings of the Institute for System Programming of the RAS (Proceedings of ISP RAS). 2017;29(3):247-296. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.15514/ISPRAS-2017-29(3)-14
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