Editorial

The development of information technology over the past decades has influenced the structure of human society and the daily lives of individuals dramatically. Since the first issue of “Informatik – Forschung und Entwicklung (IFE)” was publishedmorethan20 yearsagoin1986, informationandsoftware systems have become an integral part of many products in the Information Age. In their design process, software cannot be seen as an isolated component but needs instead to be treated asan integratedpartof larger socialor technical systems.Software has actually proved to be the fundamental raw material of the Information Age (see “Manifest – Strategische Bedeutung des Software Engineering in Deutschland”, published in Informatik-Spektrum, Heft 3, 2006). As such, software engineering is connected to many neighbouring disciplines, e.g. mobile computing, security, distributed systems, embedded systems, the design of human-computer interfaces and ubiquitous computing, as well as to application areas, e.g. mechanical engineering, medical engineering and medical technology, traffic engineering and environmental technology. In the future, the focus of IFE will shift to take account of developments in the field of software engineering and its adjacent disciplines, with inclusion of embedded systems, mobile systems, information systems, algorithm engineering, web engineering, ubiquitous computing, serviceoriented architectures, model-driven architectures, processoriented architectures and related topics. In short, IFE will be soliciting strong papers from the field of Software Engineering & Systems. IFE has been very successful in the past thanks to its orientation towards practical and in particular industrial applications. Since many developments in Computer Science, even those of a fundamental nature, are driven by practical considerations, this orientation will continue in the future. As in the past, contributions from industry will be very welcome. In general, two kinds of papers will be published in IFE: research papers presenting novel approaches and results, and survey papers summarizing current developments. IFE will continue its tradition of publishing special issues on selected topics in the field of Software Engineering & Systems. In both academic institutions and industrial environments, research and development takes place in international settings, with collaborators coming from all over the world. For such teams, English is the language of science and the language of choice for publishing results. Taking this situation into account, IFE has also decided to go international. Starting with this volume, IFE will focus on publishing in English while still accepting German papers for a transitional period. As a result, it will change its name to “ComputerScience– Research and Development (CSRD)”. Moreover, IFE/CSRD’s international orientation will also be reflected in the addition of internationally renowned scientists from the field of Software Engineering & Systems to the editorial board. Just as many people express changes in attitude by cutting their hair or shaving off their beards, IFE/CSRD is also highlighting its changes in editorial policy by appearing in a new outfit. The cover design incorporates new colours, with an eye-catching picture in the centre. Enjoy! To close, I wish to express my gratitude to the following people who take the credit for the sustained success of IFE/CSRD: Hermann Engesser and the SpringerVerlag for entrusting me with the editorial responsibility for IFE/CSRD; Theo Härder and Stefan Jähnichen, who previously served as editors-in-chief; Waltraut and Albert Endres, who founded the journal and served on its editorial board for many years; and, last but not least, the old and new editors for their valuable work for IFE/CSRD. Once again, enjoy IFE/CSRD’s new design and orientation and keep reading!