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Licensed for use by the Arab Open University

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Course Team Chair Project Officers

Pete Thomas Malcolm Macgregor
Mike Richards
Authors
Academic Computer Service
Steve Armstrong
Aspassia Daskalopulu Kamy Yazdanjoo
John Dyke
Jon Hall
Text Composition
Pat Hall
Darrel Ince Carolyn Anderson
Blaine Price Jim Campbell
David Shearer Bill Norman
Janet van der Linden
Ray Weedon Publishing Editors
Robert Zimmer
Jenny Kwee Brown
Jenny Chalmers
External Assessor
Roger Lowry
Professor R. Winder,
King’s College, Designer
University of London
Ruth Drage
Course Manager
Artist
Linda Landsberg
John Taylor
Academic Editor
Gordon Davies

Consultants Readers
Benedict Heal David Bateman
Independent Consultant Brian Hambling
Nigel Kermode
Tim Trew Gerry McGrogan
Philips Research Laboratories, UK Sarah Mattingley
Michael Jackson David Morse
Independent Consultant Barbara Segal

Professor G. Colouris
Queen Mary and Westfield College,
University of London
#CAO5AOK
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There are a number of things you need to know and do before starting to study M301
proper. These include:
1 familiarizing yourself with the contents of this Course Guide, which provides you
with the indispensable information you need in order to study the course
effectively;
2 accessing the course web site;
3 checking your programme of work on the Study Calendar, which can be found on
the course web site;
4 completing some of the preparatory tasks detailed in the Guide to Electronic
Tuition such as installing the computer conferencing facilities used on the course,
and accessing the eTMA system.
We consider these ‘preliminaries’ so important that we have made them part of the
exercises you need to carry out in the first tutor marked assignment (TMA) and you
will be therefore be rewarded for carrying them out.

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As you will learn when you come to read Section 20 of this Course Guide, the
continuous assessment for M301 consists of six TMAs.You will see from the Study
Calendar that you are required to submit the first part of TMA01 at the end of the first
week of the course. You should submit it to the ETMA system as TMA00; please refer
to Using the Electronic TMA System – A Student Guide to eTMAs for details of how to
submit TMA00.
To obtain the TMAs for this course, you will need to download them from the course
web site. Your first task is to download TMA01 and you should now carry out the
steps in the activity box below.

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#APHI5L&P<45 . 8.

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The course teaches a number of state-of-the-art topics including:
# reading and modifying programs (including network programs) written in Java;
# modelling with the Unified Modeling Language (UML) for the analysis and design
of applications;
# software reuse using architectures, frameworks, patterns and components;
# the management and quality assurance of the software development process.
The course is particularly concerned with large, distributed systems and with the issues
of concurrency and security which naturally arise in such systems.
After completing this course, you should be able to:
# describe the major features of modern distributed systems including concurrency,
networking, middleware and client–server systems;
# analyse existing systems to identify their major architectural principles including
components, frameworks and patterns, and describe how such systems work in
isolation and together;
# use the Unified Modeling Language in the analysis, design and implementation of
new requirements in relation to existing software, so that parts of existing systems
can be reused;
# read programs written in Java, and amend or extend an existing software system
written in Java in response to new requirements, particularly in the area of
distributed systems;
# specify and implement an integrated software testing regime;
# describe the essentials of network security;
# describe the essential features of a simple formal approach to software
development known as Design by Contract;
# describe the key issues in the planning and management of software development
projects;
# understand the key issues in practising software engineering as a profession.
Most of the remainder of this Course Guide tells you more about the components of
the course and how you should go about studying them. Before you begin, however,
ensure that you are confident about your knowledge of the prerequisites.

9 *J5J5IR=K=O5N>ACT?54:5
M301 is a level 3 course designed to follow on from M206 Computing: An Object-
Oriented Approach. In writing this course, we have assumed that you have a good
knowledge of programming in an object-oriented language such as Smalltalk (as taught
in M206), C++ or Eiffel. More importantly, we have assumed that you are familiar
with the following object-oriented concepts: objects, classes, message passing,
inheritance and polymorphism. We have also assumed that you understand the basic
processes of software development, in particular the activities of development usually
referred to as analysis, design, implementation, testing and maintenance.
If you are in any doubt about your capacity to study M301, we strongly suggest that
you try the self-assessment test that can be found at the M301 web site,
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Note that the link to the test can be found on the main page of the site, i.e. on the same
page as the link &=F4BEF84E*GL?EC9F4.
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If you do not have a suitable
version of Microsoft Word, you
will still be able to read your
marked assignments using
Microsoft Word Viewer 97,
supplied as part of the course
materials.
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This test should identify the topics that you need to revise and provides some
suggestions about how you can update your knowledge prior to starting your study of
M301. If, having tried the test, you are in any doubt about your understanding of the
prerequisite knowledge, please think twice before continuing with M301 and ask for
advice from your Regional Advisory Service.
Note that because M301 is a level 3 course it assumes you have good study and reading
skills. The course aims to develop these skills further by requiring you to use a variety
of course materials (including text books, commercial CASE tools and Internet
resources) and not just OU-written course texts.
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It is vital that you have the necessary computing equipment and software installed and
running before you start the course proper. In particular, ensure that you have:
# access to a computer that meets the specification given in Section 7 (you may also
find it useful to have access to a printer);
# obtained access to the Internet by subscribing to an Internet Service Provider (ISP);
# installed an Internet browser (a suitable version of Microsoft Internet Explorer is
provided with the course materials on the OU’s On Line Applications CD);
# a word processor for completing electronic tutor-marked assignments which is
capable of including diagrams in documents. (Microsoft Word versions 6, 7, 97
and 2000 are particularly suitable for M301 because you must provide your tutor
with documents readable in Word 97. Also, when your marked assignments are
returned to you, they will be in the form of Microsoft Word documents.)
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For many new students, the demands of studying part-time create more problems than
the course content. If M301 is your first OU course, we recommend that you take
advantage of the advice that the Open University provides to all new students about
organizing their study skills. For instance, all new students will be sent the booklet
Learning with the OU Starts Here, which is well worth reading as soon as you can
before the course starts. Your Regional Centre will explain the student support system
that will give you advice at any time once you are a registered student. Your Regional
Centre may also be able to organize special meetings for new students at post-
foundation level and, if so, they will send you details and we recommend that you take
advantage of them. Near the formal start of the course, you should receive details of
your course tutor, who will also be a source of help.
There are, in addition, several helpful pieces of advice for new students in the "3I914E
;406;4FC folder in the )=6>E$4=FB4 within the ,@4=E/=9I4BC9FK conference on FirstClass
(see the Guide to Electronic Tuition).
If you have not undertaken any study for quite some time or are concerned about your
background or general study skills, you might find it worthwhile to look at the Sciences
Good Study Guide by Andrew Northedge, Jeff Thomas, Andrew Lane and Alice
Peasgood, Open University, 1997, ISBN 0 7492 3411 3.
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M301 makes significant use of a personal computer for:
# developing software (models and implementations) using industrial-strength
software tools;
# accessing materials from the course web site;
# communicating with your tutor and fellow students;
#APHI5L&P<45 .L.

# submitting assignments electronically.

Access to a personal computer capable of supporting these activities is essential.
The minimum specification for such a personal computer is:
# a PC running one of the following operating systems: Windows 95,
Windows NT 4, Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, Windows 2000, Windows ME or
Windows XP (no other operating system is supported);
# a processor with the capabilities of an Intel Pentium II (or equivalent) running at a
minimum of 166 MHz (233 MHz is better);
# a minimum of 128 MB RAM (256 MB is better);
# a minimum of 300 MB of available hard disk space;
# a modem running at 28.8 bps;
# a CD-ROM drive.

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The materials for this course consist of:
# Course Guide (this document);
# six blocks of study materials incorporating study instructions, self-assessment
questions (SAQs) and solutions, and exercises and solutions;
# IDE Handbook;
# Modelling Tool Handbook;
# two course books:
Understanding Object-oriented Programming with Java by Timothy Budd, Second
Edition, Addison-Wesley, 2002 (special version for this course)
Concurrent Systems by Jean Bacon, Addison-Wesley, 2002
(special version for this course)
# IDE, JBuilder 3.5 Foundation;
# course team software;
# modelling tool, Rational Rose;
# Case Study;
# Study Calendar;
# Glossary;
# Index;
# six TMAs;
# Specimen Examination Paper, with solutions;
# Guide to Electronic Tuition.
Note that the course books are referred to in the course units as Budd and Bacon
respectively.
The majority of the materials will be distributed to you on paper. Supporting materials,
including the TMAs, the Case Study, Study Calendar and stop press information, will
be distributed to you via the M301 course web site
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It is imperative, therefore, that you examine the M301 web site on a regular basis to
familiarize yourself with the latest news about the course and its assessment.
.6 )NTBL#&

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Certain course materials, such as the Case Study, TMAs, Study Calendar and stop
press information can only be obtained from the course web site
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As a student you should click on the link &=F4BEF84E*GL?EC9F4 (or the M301 logo)
which will take you to the first page of the M301 web site. At the top of this page is a
menu of links labelled +4JC, #;>1:C, "CC4CC<4=F, $0C4E-FH3K, .H9F9>=, $0;4=30B and
(4;@ providing access to, among other things, the latest information about the course,
materials related to individual blocks of the course, assessments (including TMAs), the
Case Study, the Study Calendar and a help section. Each page of the web site has a
similar menu at its top that will enable you to navigate through the site with ease.
Clicking on the #;>1:C link enables you to choose a particular block and then a unit
within that block. There is a separate page for each unit of the course that provides
access to additional materials via links to other web sites, and contains errata and stop
presses related to that unit.
The course units are also available from the course web site.
The first page of the web site is labelled .89CEJ44:E>=E*GL? and changes on a weekly
basis to remind you of what you should be studying that week and to draw your
attention to any new information recently added to the site. You should aim to visit the
web site on a regular basis (at least weekly) to keep up to date with the course.
Information from the Course Team will normally be posted to the +4JC page each
Friday.
The web page for each unit will also contain any additional information that the Course
Team considers may help your study of the unit. It will also contain any known errata
associated with the unit.

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An important feature of this course is the tutorial strategy. You will have the
opportunity to be in regular contact with your tutor by telephone, by engaging in
electronic communication via email and group conferences, by participating in
electronic tutorials (eTutorials) via your regional conference, and by attending face-to-
face tutorials (where these are offered). These opportunities, while not mandatory, will
enable you to discuss the core concepts of this course with your tutor and fellow
students. The timetable for tutorials, together with details of how to communicate with
your tutor and fellow students, will be sent to you separately from the course materials
mentioned above.
eTutorials have been designed to help you to tackle one or more questions in each of
the first five TMAs. You are therefore strongly recommended to participate in them. A
typical eTutorial will run for the two weeks leading up to a TMA cut-off date. Their
starting times are shown on the Study Calendar. Further details can be found in the
Guide to Electronic Tuition (Subsection 3.2 and Section 5).
To engage in electronic communication, you will need to install the conferencing
software FirstClass, which is provided with the course materials. Details of this
software and of how to install and use it are given in the Guide to Electronic Tuition.
#APHI5L&P<45 .B.

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The course is divided into six blocks of text comprising, in total, the equivalent of 30
study units of material, where a study unit is designed to be studied in about 15 hours
over a one-week period. Precisely what you should study is detailed in the study guide
for each individual unit. The units are conveniently packaged into six blocks and there
is a tutor-marked assignment (TMA) associated with each block. Details of when you
should be studying each unit and the cut-off dates for assignments are provided in the
Study Calendar.
There is a three-hour examination at the end of the course.

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Follow the instructions in the individual units. You will find that in most units there is
a similar study pattern, consisting of: reading chapters from the course books;
answering a variety of self-assessment questions and exercises; performing some
practical activities using your computer; and completing an assignment question. Some
units have a slightly different structure, so you should always refer to the specific
instructions in the Study Guide section for each unit before commencing its study.
The Study Calendar tells when you should be studying each unit and specifies the dates
by which you should submit your assignments. Each unit represents about one week’s
worth of work, but sometimes as a block they will take slightly longer than 5 weeks.
We have allowed for this by sandwiching free weeks between certain blocks.
M301 is based on the material contained in two course books. The first block of the
course is devoted to the study of Understanding Object-oriented Programming with
Java by Timothy Budd. Blocks 2 and 3 are based on Concurrent Systems by Jean
Bacon. Blocks 4 and 5 are devoted to analysis and design using UML and to the
process of software development. The final block is devoted to special topics and the
completion of a significant piece of practical work that forms part of the final TMA.
We have provided some additional materials that can be accessed from the course web
site. We shall direct your study by specifying which parts of each course book to read,
but you should always be prepared to turn to the other sources for additional
information or alternative viewpoints.
There is a great deal of practical work, based mainly on the use of two software tools:
an integrated development environment (IDE) for implementing Java components; and
a modelling tool, which supports the analysis and design phases of software
development. You will be introduced to the IDE in Block 1 and the modelling tool in
Block 4.
Most of the course materials are assessable, in that you can be asked questions about
them in a TMA or in the final examination. There are, however, also optional parts that
will not be assessed. They are clearly marked as optional.

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Units are divided into sections and each section is normally associated with the study
of an individual chapter of a course book. Roughly speaking, each section should take
between one evening and two evenings to work through, where by one evening’s work
we mean between 2½ and 3 hours of study time (there is a more precise estimate of the
time needed to study each section in the Study Guide at the beginning of each unit).
Before studying a unit check its web page (see Section 9) for any additional
information or errata, and annotate your course materials as appropriate.
.DW )NTBL#&

Begin your study of each section of a unit by reading through its objectives and
through the list of key terms and concepts. These together specify the main ideas that
you will be studying, and identify the terms that you must become familiar with as the
result of studying the section. Normally, there follows a substantial subsection, entitled
‘Study activities’, that identifies which chapter of the course book or other materials to
read. Prior to the instructions for reading, there may be some initial information that
should be studied before reading the course book. Following the reading instructions,
there will often be a set of explanatory notes that will clarify some of the issues raised
by the course book. If you find that the reading from the course book is difficult to
follow, look at the explanatory notes for additional information on the topic. From time
to time additional information will also be posted to the web site. You should also refer
to the Glossary (see Section 19) as you work through the course books.
The course books are divided into relatively small sections that are easier to digest than
whole chapters. Therefore, do not read whole chapters at a time. Instead, having
completed the reading of a single section of a course book, attempt the self-assessment
question (SAQ) designed specifically for that section. It can be found, together with its
solution, in the subsection of the unit immediately following the ‘Study activities’
subsection. We have normally numbered each SAQ with the number of its associated
book section for ease of reference. For example, if you have just read Section 4.2 of
Budd’s book, you should attempt SAQ 4.2.
At the end of your study of a chapter of a course book or other written material in a
section of a unit, you should attempt the more substantial exercises specified in that
section. Each exercise is followed by a solution.
You will find that the solutions to SAQs and exercises occasionally contain further
explanatory notes that are also part of the course.
Many units ask you to do some practical work, such as running and modifying Java
programs, modelling software systems and accessing the web. Such activities require
you to use the software tools provided as part of the course materials.
Once you have completed the reading and the exercises in a unit, we suggest that you
attempt the tutor-marked assignment (TMA) question associated with that unit.
While we have tried to ensure that individual units require about the same amount of
study time, the actual time you spend will depend upon a variety of factors, including:
your previous knowledge; the length of individual chapters in the course books; the
amount of technical material to be learned; and the amount of practical work that you
are asked to do. Therefore, while we have given our estimates of the amount of time
we think you should need to spend on each section of each unit, you may find that the
time you actually spend differs. We have taken this variation into account by providing
‘free’ weeks in the calendar, which will enable you to catch up, should you have fallen
behind.

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Self-assessment questions (SAQs) are designed to be answered quickly, without
reference to the texts and normally without the use of pen and paper. They are designed
to enable you to assess how well you have mastered the material you have just studied.
Having read a section of a book, you should immediately attempt the associated SAQ.
If you are confident that your answer to the question matches our sample solution, you
should proceed to the next stage of study. Otherwise, it is an indication that you should
review the section you have just read. The solution to an SAQ immediately follows the
question for ease of reference. (Try not to look at the solution until you have attempted
the question!)
Taken together, the SAQs and their solutions provide a useful summary of the major
topics of the course. You would be well advised to tackle as many of the SAQs as you
can during the course and use the solutions in your revision.
#APHI5L&P<45 .DD.

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The course books contain exercises at the end of each chapter. Many of the exercises
are more demanding than SAQs and require you to break off from reading the text and
spend some time thinking about a solution. We have identified some of these exercises
for you to tackle once you have completed the study of a chapter. You will find that
these exercises are indicative of the type of questions you will meet in the TMAs and
will provide you with useful practice before attempting the assignments. We have
provided solutions to all exercises, and once you have attempted an exercise it is
advisable to read the given solution thoroughly before continuing with your study.
In some cases we have provided additional exercises, particularly in areas where we
want to emphasize certain concepts.

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Throughout the course we expect you to obtain practical experience of the major
concepts in the course. This will mean, for example, writing small programs in Java,
drawing diagrams using the UML notation, accessing and using information from the
web, and generally becoming familiar with the software tools provided with the course.

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In this year’s presentation of M301 (i.e. in 2003), we expect you to use Rational Rose
2002 as your modelling tool, and the Fourth Edition of the Modelling Tool Handbook
(you’ll find the number on the bottom left of the front page). However, those of you
who still have Windows 95 or 98 (not the Special Edition) will have to use Rational
Rose 2000 and make reference to the second edition of the Modelling Tool Handbook
when installing and customizing the tool. You should be able to use this year’s
handbook for all the practical activities, but if you experience difficulties then you
should check the corresponding practical activity in the old handbook. (The
correspondence between the new and old versions of the activities is shown in
Table 1.1 of the new Handbook.)
Note that you will receive Rose 2002 and this year’s version of the Modelling Tool
Handbook as part of your second mailing If you have Windows 95 or Windows 98
(non-SE version) then you will need to request a copy of Rose 2000 and a copy of
version 2.1 of the Modelling Tool Handbook from the Warehouse. Please refer to the
instructions included in your second mailing for details.

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From time to time the texts contain examples. These are designed to illustrate a
concept or technique with which you should become familiar.

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Throughout the course you will be asked to engage in a major Case Study via
references from the course text. Initially, the description of the Case Study provides a
useful outline of the issues surrounding the development of large-scale distributed
software systems. As the course progresses you will study various aspects of the Case
Study and will be asked to develop solutions to the problems raised. Ultimately, in
Block 6, you will be asked to provide a complete solution (including an
implementation) of a significant portion of the Case Study, and this should be
submitted as part of the final TMA.
.DQ )NTBL#&

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The Glossary is an important part of the course materials. It is a fact of life that, in the
field of computing, there is a great deal of terminology to be absorbed. It is also the
case that terms are used in different ways by different authors. This poses a problem
when studying M301 because you will be exposed to (at least) two different views of
some terms from the authors of the two course books. To alleviate this problem, the
Glossary contains an alphabetical list of the major technical terms used in the course,
giving the preferred course definition and, where they differ, the definitions used in the
course books. As you read through the course books you should refer to the Glossary
for the preferred course definition. In cases where there are considerable differences
between authors, the units will discuss the issues in detail.
We strongly advise you to get used to working with the Glossary from the outset so that
you become familiar with the document as quickly as possible.

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The assessment of M301 is in two parts: continuous assessment and a final
examination. The continuous assessment consists of six tutor-marked assignments
(TMAs) that must be submitted to your tutor by certain dates, known as cut-off dates as
shown on the TMA itself and on the Study Calendar for the current year. Each TMA
corresponds to one block of the course and assesses the five units in the block. TMA01
is split into two sections; you will need to submit Question 1 of TMA01 as TMA00 to
the eTMA system. The two cut-off dates for TMA01 are given in the Study Calendar
and the Assignment Booklet. The following points should be noted about the TMAs.
1 Question 1 of TMA01, as you will already have found in Section 1, assesses:
# the preliminary activities of familiarizing yourself with the contents of this
Course Guide and the Guide to Electronic Tuition;
# the first two sections of Unit 1.1.
Note, in particular, that it is due for return to your tutor at the end of the first week
of the course and that you must submit it to the system as TMA00.
2 The other questions in TMA01 assess the remainder of Block 1.
3 TMA02 assesses Block 2, TMA03 assesses Block 3 and so on.
4 In general, the TMAs consist of one question for every unit in the corresponding
block. TMA01 differs from this because it deals partly with preliminary activities,
and TMA06 is also different because it requires you to complete a substantial
practical exercise in place of studying written course units.
5 Try to submit your TMA to the eTMA system well before the cut-off date, to avoid
overloading the system.
The final examination will examine the whole of the course. You will be sent details at
a later date of the location, time and date of the examination. A Specimen Examination
Paper with solutions is included with the course materials; this will aid you in
understanding what is expected of you in the examination.
The final grade for the course is determined equally on the basis of your continuous
assessment score and your examination score. Note, however, that the system of
‘substitution’ does not apply to this course.
TMAs are to be submitted and marked electronically. For more information on this,
consult the Guide to Electronic Tuition.
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Comprehensive details about the help you can expect to obtain while studying M301
can be found on the M301 web site, whose URL is
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For convenience the main sources of help are listed below. Telephone numbers are
available on the web site..

Nature of query Who to contact

Academic queries Your Course Tutor
Tutorial support Regional Centre
Course-related problems Course Manager
Course software problems LTS Helpdesk
Electronic TMAs LTS Helpdesk
Mailings Correspondence Services

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