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Modular Approach to Software Construction Operation and Test
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<p>The Modular Approach to Software Construction Operation and Test (MASCOT) is a <a href="/facts/Software_development_process/cIDtuNPN">software engineering methodology</a> developed under the auspices of the <a href="/facts/Ministry_of_Defence_(United_Kingdom)/9TG9a0ss">United Kingdom Ministry of Defence</a> starting in the early 1970s at the <a href="/facts/Royal_Radar_Establishment/jsUq834G">Royal Radar Establishment</a> and continuing its evolution over the next twenty years. The co-originators of MASCOT were Hugo Simpson and Ken Jackson (currently with <a href="/facts/Telelogic/Vjx8uQac">Telelogic</a>). </p><p>Where most methodologies tend to concentrate on bringing rigour and structure to a software project's functional aspects, MASCOT's primary purpose is to emphasise the <i>architectural</i> aspects of a project. Its creators purposely avoided saying anything about the functionality of the software being developed, and concentrated on the real-time control and interface definitions between concurrently running processes. </p><p>MASCOT was successfully used in a number of defence systems, most notably the <a href="/facts/Rapier_missile/W3uolarL">Rapier ground-to-air missile system</a> of the British Army. Although still in use on systems in the field, it never reached critical success and has been subsequently overshadowed by <a href="/facts/Object-oriented_programming/TxNMEcao">object oriented design</a> methodologies based on <a href="/facts/Unified_Modeling_Language/3tlNS0tH">UML</a>. </p><p>A <a href="/facts/British_Standards_Institution/VljYYY4o">British Standards Institution</a> (BSI) standard was drafted for version 3 of the methodology, but was never ratified. Copies of the draft standard can be still obtained from the BSI. </p>