Sally hashim Shlaer (December 3, 1938 – November 12, 1998) was an American
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change.
History
On ...
,
software engineer
Software engineering is a systematic engineering approach to software development.
A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. The term ''p ...
and
methodologist
In its most common sense, methodology is the study of research methods. However, the term can also refer to the methods themselves or to the philosophical discussion of associated background assumptions. A method is a structured procedure for bri ...
,
[Sally Shlaer](_blank)
by J.L. Pimsleur, 1999 known as co-developer of the 1980s
Shlaer–Mellor method The Shlaer–Mellor method, also known as Object-Oriented Systems Analysis (OOSA) or Object-Oriented Analysis (OOA) is an object-oriented software development methodology introduced by Sally Shlaer and Stephen Mellor in 1988. The method makes the ...
for software development.
Biography
Born in
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, Shlaer received a BS in
Mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
in 1960 from
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
and started a graduate study at the
Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...
.
At Stanford Shlaer had started programming in
Fortran and
assembler
Assembler may refer to:
Arts and media
* Nobukazu Takemura, avant-garde electronic musician, stage name Assembler
* Assemblers, a fictional race in the ''Star Wars'' universe
* Assemblers, an alternative name of the superhero group Champions of A ...
. In 1965 she started as a software engineer at
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), located a short distance northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, ...
. In 1977 she became project manager in software development at
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), commonly referred to as the Berkeley Lab, is a United States national laboratory that is owned by, and conducts scientific research on behalf of, the United States Department of Energy. Located in ...
, where she guided the development of a new Integrated Control System for the
Bay Area Rapid Transit System.
At Lawrence Berkeley, Laboratory Shlaer met
Stephen J. Mellor
Stephen J. Mellor (born 1952) is an American computer scientist, developer of the Ward–Mellor method for real-time computing, the Shlaer–Mellor method, and Executable UML, and signatory to the Agile Manifesto.
Biography
Mellor rece ...
, with whom she developed the
Shlaer–Mellor method The Shlaer–Mellor method, also known as Object-Oriented Systems Analysis (OOSA) or Object-Oriented Analysis (OOA) is an object-oriented software development methodology introduced by Sally Shlaer and Stephen Mellor in 1988. The method makes the ...
for software development. In 1985 together they founded the software development firm Project Technology Inc. Shlaer was also a Fellows of the
Association for Computing Machinery
The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is a US-based international learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 and is the world's largest scientific and educational computing society. The ACM is a non-profit professional member ...
.
Work
Software engineering
Shlaer started her software engineering career at Los Alamos National Laboratory as a programmer. She designed and implemented an operating system to operate an electron accelerator to work in real time, and this project became her masterpiece.
[M. Page-Jones (1999)]
Sally Shlaer Obituary
in ''The C++ report''. Vol 11. p. 82
At Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, she led a team of
software developer
Software development is the process of conceiving, specifying, designing, Computer programming, programming, software documentation, documenting, software testing, testing, and Software bugs, bug fixing involved in creating and maintaining applic ...
s to build a new
control system
A control system manages, commands, directs, or regulates the behavior of other devices or systems using control loops. It can range from a single home heating controller using a thermostat controlling a domestic boiler to large industrial c ...
for the subway of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system. The existing control system software was considered impossible to continue using, making replacement necessary. Working with Steve Mellor, they replaced the original
Fortran and
assembly language
In computer programming, assembly language (or assembler language, or symbolic machine code), often referred to simply as Assembly and commonly abbreviated as ASM or asm, is any low-level programming language with a very strong correspondence be ...
code with new code, going from seventy thousand lines to two thousand. This analysis has since been called "legendary".
Shlaer–Mellor method
In the developing of a new control system for the Bay Area Rapid Transit, Shlaer and Mellor sought to regulate mechanisms of software development and began to design new methods of
project management
Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project documentation, created at the beginning of the development process. Th ...
.
This resulted in the development of the
Shlaer–Mellor method The Shlaer–Mellor method, also known as Object-Oriented Systems Analysis (OOSA) or Object-Oriented Analysis (OOA) is an object-oriented software development methodology introduced by Sally Shlaer and Stephen Mellor in 1988. The method makes the ...
, which in the new millennium has evolved into
Executable UML Executable UML (xtUML or xUML) is both a software development method and a highly abstract software language. It was described for the first time in 2002 in the book "Executable UML: A Foundation for Model-Driven Architecture". The language "combine ...
.
[Mellor, S; Balcer, M: "Executable UML: A foundation for model-driven architecture", Preface, Addison Wesley, 2002]
Publications
* 1988. ''Object Oriented Systems Analysis: Modeling the World in Data''. With
Stephen J. Mellor
Stephen J. Mellor (born 1952) is an American computer scientist, developer of the Ward–Mellor method for real-time computing, the Shlaer–Mellor method, and Executable UML, and signatory to the Agile Manifesto.
Biography
Mellor rece ...
. Prentice Hall, 1988.
* 1991. ''Object Life Cycles: Modeling the World In States''. With
Stephen J. Mellor
Stephen J. Mellor (born 1952) is an American computer scientist, developer of the Ward–Mellor method for real-time computing, the Shlaer–Mellor method, and Executable UML, and signatory to the Agile Manifesto.
Biography
Mellor rece ...
. Prentice Hall, 1991.
Articles, a selection:
Sally Shlaer
DBLP Bibliography Server
* 1992.
A Comparison of OOA and OMT
Project Technology, Inc. White paper
* 1996.
The Shlaer-Mellor Method
. Project Technology, Inc. White paper
* 1997.
Recursive Design of an Application-Independent Architecture
With Stephen J. Mellor
Stephen J. Mellor (born 1952) is an American computer scientist, developer of the Ward–Mellor method for real-time computing, the Shlaer–Mellor method, and Executable UML, and signatory to the Agile Manifesto.
Biography
Mellor rece ...
in ''IEEE Software
''IEEE Software'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed magazine and scientific journal published by the IEEE Computer Society covering all aspects of software engineering, processes, and practices. Its mission is to be the best source of reliable, useful ...
'', January 1997.
References
External links
Sally Shlaer
Obituary by J.L. Pimsleur, 1999
by M. Page-Jones, 1999
Up-Close and Personal Conversation o
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shlaer, Sally
1938 births
American computer scientists
Fellows of the Association for Computing Machinery
Stanford University alumni
American software engineers
Real-time computing
1998 deaths
American women computer scientists
20th-century American women scientists
20th-century American scientists