AI-assisted software development is the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to augment software development. It uses large language models (LLMs), AI agents and other AI technologies to assist software developers. It helps in a range of tasks of the software development life cycle, from code generation to debugging, editing, testing, UI design, understanding the code, and documentation. Agentic coding denotes the use of AI agents for software development. == Technologies == === Source code generation === Large language models trained or fine-tuned on source-code corpora can generate source code from natural-language descriptions, comments, or docstrings. Research on code-generation systems often evaluates generated programs by functional correctness, such as whether the output passes automated test cases, rather than by syntax alone. Such tools can be features or extensions of integrated development environments (IDEs). === Intelligent code completion === AI agents using pre-trained and fine-tuned LLMs can predict and suggest code completions based on context. According to Husein, Aburajouh & Catal in a 2025 literature review in Computer Standards & Interfaces, "LLMs significantly enhance code completion performance across several programming languages and contexts, and their capability to predict relevant code snippets based on context and partial input boosts developer productivity substantially." === Testing, debugging, code review and analysis === AI is used to automatically generate test cases, identify potential bugs and security vulnerabilities, and suggest fixes. AI can also be used to perform static code analysis and suggest potential performance improvements. == Limitations == Both ownership of and responsibility for AI-generated code is disputed. According to a report from the German Federal Office for Information Security, the use of AI coding assistants without careful oversight from experienced developers can introduce both minor and major security vulnerabilities, and any potential gain in productivity should be weighed against the cost of additional quality control and security measures. According to Deloitte, outputs from AI-assisted software development must be validated through a combination of automated testing, static analysis tools and human review, creating a governance layer to improve quality and accountability. == Vibe coding ==
Image warping
Image warping is the process of digitally manipulating an image such that any shapes portrayed in the image have been significantly distorted. Warping may be used for correcting image distortion as well as for creative purposes (e.g., morphing). The same techniques are equally applicable to video. While an image can be transformed in various ways, pure warping means that points are mapped to points without changing the colors. This can be based mathematically on any function from (part of) the plane to the plane. If the function is injective the original can be reconstructed. If the function is a bijection any image can be inversely transformed. Some methods are: Images may be distorted through simulation of optical aberrations. Images may be viewed as if they had been projected onto a curved or mirrored surface. (This is often seen in ray traced images.) Images can be partitioned into image polygons and each polygon distorted. Images can be distorted using morphing. The most obvious approach to transforming a digital image is the forward mapping. This applies the transform directly to the source image, typically generating unevenly-spaced points that will then be interpolated to generate the required regularly-spaced pixels. However, for injective transforms reverse mapping is also available. This applies the inverse transform to the target pixels to find the unevenly-spaced locations in the source image that contribute to them. Estimating them from source image pixels will require interpolation of the source image. To work out what kind of warping has taken place between consecutive images, one can use optical flow estimation techniques. == Image warping toolbox == ImWIP is an open-source, image warping tool for modeling deformation and motion in digital images, which contains differentiable image warping operators, together with their exact adjoints and derivatives.
ArchiMate
ArchiMate ( AR-ki-mayt) is an open and independent enterprise architecture modeling language to support the description, analysis and visualization of architecture within and across business domains in an unambiguous way. ArchiMate is a technical standard from The Open Group and is based on concepts from the now superseded IEEE 1471 standard. It is supported by various tool vendors and consulting firms. ArchiMate is also a registered trademark of The Open Group. The Open Group has a certification program for ArchiMate users, software tools and courses. ArchiMate distinguishes itself from other languages such as Unified Modeling Language (UML) and Business Process Modeling and Notation (BPMN) by its enterprise modelling scope. Also, UML and BPMN are meant for a specific use and they are quite heavy – containing about 150 (UML) and 250 (BPMN) modeling concepts whereas ArchiMate works with just about 50 (in version 2.0). The goal of ArchiMate is to be ”as small as possible”, not to cover every edge scenario imaginable. To be easy to learn and apply, ArchiMate was intentionally restricted “to the concepts that suffice for modeling the proverbial 80% of practical cases". == Overview == ArchiMate offers a common language for describing the construction and operation of business processes, organizational structures, information flows, IT systems, and technical infrastructure. This insight helps the different stakeholders to design, assess, and communicate the consequences of decisions and changes within and between these business domains. The main concepts and relationships of the ArchiMate language can be seen as a framework, the so-called Archimate Framework: It divides the enterprise architecture into a business, application and technology layer. In each layer, three aspects are considered: active elements, an internal structure and elements that define use or communicate information. One of the objectives of the ArchiMate language is to define the relationships between concepts in different architecture domains. The concepts of this language therefore hold the middle between the detailed concepts, which are used for modeling individual domains (for example, the Unified Modeling Language (UML) for modeling software products), and Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN), which is used for business process modeling. == History == ArchiMate is partly based on the now superseded IEEE 1471 standard. It was developed in the Netherlands by a project team from the Telematica Instituut in cooperation with several Dutch partners from government, industry and academia. Among the partners were Ordina NV, Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, the Leiden Institute for Advanced Computer Science (LIACS) and the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI). Later, tests were performed in organizations such as ABN AMRO, the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration and the ABP. The development process lasted from July 2002 to December 2004, and took about 35 person years and approximately 4 million euros. The development was funded by the Dutch government (Dutch Tax and Customs Administration), and business partners, including ABN AMRO and the ABP Pension Fund. In 2008 the ownership and stewardship of ArchiMate was transferred to The Open Group. It is now managed by the ArchiMate Forum within The Open Group. In February 2009 The Open Group published the ArchiMate 1.0 standard as a formal technical standard. In January 2012 the ArchiMate 2.0 standard, and in 2013 the ArchiMate 2.1 standard was released. In June 2016, the Open Group released version 3.0 of the ArchiMate Specification. An update to Archimate 3.0.1 came out in August 2017. Archimate 3.1 was published 5 November 2019. The latest version of the ArchiMate Specification is version 3.2 released October 2022. Version 3.0 adds enhanced support for capability-oriented strategic modelling, new entities representing physical resources (for modelling the ingredients, equipment and transport resources used in the physical world) and a generic metamodel showing the entity types and the relationships between them. == ArchiMate framework == === Core framework === The main concepts and elements of the ArchiMate language are being presented as ArchiMate core framework. It consists of three layers and three aspects. This creates a matrix of combinations. Every layer has its passive structure, behavior and active structure aspects. ==== Layers ==== ArchiMate has a layered and service-oriented look on architectural models. The higher layers make use of services that are provided by the lower layers. Although, at an abstract level, the concepts that are used within each layer are similar, we define more concrete concepts that are specific for a certain layer. In this context, we distinguish three main layers: The business layer is about business processes, services, functions and events of business units. This layer "offers products and services to external customers, which are realized in the organization by business processes performed by business actors and roles". The application layer is about software applications that "support the components in the business with application services". The technology layer deals "with the hardware and communication infrastructure to support the application layer. This layer offers infrastructural services needed to run applications, realized by computer and communication hardware and system software". Each of these main layers can be further divided in sub-layers. For example, in the business layer, the primary business processes realising the products of a company may make use of a layer of secondary (supporting) business processes; in the application layer, the end-user applications may make use of generic services offered by supporting applications. On top of the business layer, a separate environment layer may be added, modelling the external customers that make use of the services of the organisation (although these may also be considered part of the business layer). In line with service orientation, the most important relation between layers is formed by use relations, which show how the higher layers make use of the services of lower layers. However, a second type of link is formed by realisation relations: elements in lower layers may realise comparable elements in higher layers; e.g., a ‘data object’ (application layer) may realise a ‘business object’ (business layer); or an ‘artifact’ (technology layer) may realise either a ‘data object’ or an ‘application component’ (application layer). ==== Aspects ==== Passive structure is the set of entities on which actions are conducted. In the business layer the example would be information objects, in the application layer data objects and in the technology layer, they could include physical objects. Behavior refers to the processes and functions performed by the actors. "Structural elements are assigned to behavioral elements, to show who or what displays the behavior". Active structure is the set of entities that display some behavior, e.g. business actors, devices, or application components. === Full framework === The Full ArchiMate framework is enriched by the physical layer, which was added to allow modeling of “physical equipment, materials, and distribution networks” and was not present in the previous version. The implementation and migration layer adds elements that allow architects to model a state of transition, to mark parts of the architecture that are temporary for the purpose, as the name says, of implementation and migration. Strategy layer adds three elements: resource, capability and course of action. These elements help to incorporate strategic dimension to the ArchiMate language by allowing it to depict the usage of resources and capabilities in order to achieve some strategic goals. Finally, there is a motivation aspect that allows different stakeholders to describe the motivation of specific actors or domains, which can be quite important when looking at one thing from several different angles. It adds several elements like stakeholder, value, driver, goal, meaning etc. == ArchiMate language == The ArchiMate language is formed as a top-level and is hierarchical. On the top, there is a model. A model is a collection of concepts. A concept can be either an element or a relationship. An element can be either of behavior type, structure, motivation or a so-called composite element (which means that it does not fit just one aspect of the framework, but two or more). The functionality of all concepts without a dependency on a specific layer is described by the generic metamodel. This layer-independent description of concepts is useful when trying to understand the mechanics of the Archimate language. === Concepts === ==== Elements ==== The generic elements are distributed into the same categories as the layers: Active structure elements Behavior elements Passive structure elements Motivation elements Active structure e
Basic Formal Ontology
Basic Formal Ontology (BFO) is a top-level ontology developed by Barry Smith and colleagues to promote interoperability among domain ontologies. The BFO methodology accomplishes this through a process of downward population. BFO is a formal ontology. The structure of BFO is based on a division of entities into two disjoint categories of continuant and occurrent, the former consists of objects and spatial regions, the latter contains processes conceived as extended through (or spanning) time. BFO thereby seeks to consolidate both time and space within a single framework A guide to building BFO-conformant domain ontologies was published by MIT Press in 2015. In 2021, the standard ISO/IEC 21838-2:2021 Information Technology — Top-level Ontologies (TLO) — Part 2: Basic Formal Ontology (BFO) was published by the Joint Technical Committee of the International Standards Organization and the International Electrotechnical Commission. ISO/IEC 21838 is a multi-part standard. Part 1 of the standard specifies the requirements that must be met if an ontology is to be classified as a top-level ontology by the standard. == History == BFO arose against the background of research in ontologies in the domain of geospatial information science by David Mark, Pierre Grenon, Achille Varzi and others, with a special role for the study of vagueness and of the ways sharp boundaries in the geospatial and other domains are created by fiat. BFO has passed through four major releases. 2001: release of BFO 1 2007: release of BFO 1.1 2015: release of BFO 2.0 2020: release of BFO 2020 2021: release of BFO 2020 as an ISO/IEC Standard The current revision was released in 2020, and this forms the basis of the standard ISO/IEC 21838-2, which was released by the Joint Committee of the International Standards Organization and International Electrotechnical Commission in 2021. == Applications == BFO has been adopted as a foundational ontology by over 650 ontology projects, principally in the areas of biomedical ontology, security and defense (intelligence) ontology, and industry ontologies. Example applications of BFO can be seen in the Ontology for Biomedical Investigations (OBI). In January 2024, BFO and the Common Core Ontologies (CCO), a suite of BFO-extension ontologies, were adopted as the "baseline standards for formal DOD and IC ontology" development work in the DOD and Intelligence Community. A memorandum to this effect was signed by the chief data officers of the DOD, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office.
Artificial intelligence industry in Taiwan
The artificial intelligence (AI) industry in Taiwan refers to the development, application, and commercialization of artificial intelligence technologies within Taiwan. The industry has grown alongside Taiwan's established strengths in semiconductor manufacturing and information and communications technology (ICT), and is supported by government policy, research institutions, and private sector participation. AI development in Taiwan has focused on integrating hardware capabilities with software applications across sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, and smart infrastructure. Artificial intelligence has been identified as a strategic area of development in Taiwan since the late 2010s. While Taiwan has historically played a limited role in early theoretical and expert-system phases of AI development, its position in global electronics manufacturing has provided a foundation for participation in the contemporary era of machine learning and data-driven AI systems. Taiwan's AI industry is characterized by a strong hardware base, particularly in semiconductor production and AI server manufacturing, combined with increasing investment in software, data infrastructure, and applied AI services. The sector has been shaped by global demand for computing power, advances in deep learning, and the expansion of AI applications in industrial and commercial contexts. == Government policy and development == The Taiwanese government has promoted AI development through a series of national strategies. In 2017, the Ministry of Science and Technology launched the "AI Grand Strategy for a Small Country" initiative, investing approximately US$517 million between 2017 and 2021 to support research, infrastructure, and talent development. This initiative aimed to build a domestic AI ecosystem by funding research centers, expanding data infrastructure, and supporting industrial adoption. The Executive Yuan also introduced the AI Taiwan Action Plan 1.0 (2018–2021), which focused on integrating AI technologies into existing industries and strengthening research and development capabilities. A subsequent plan, AI Taiwan Action Plan 2.0 (2023–2026), expanded the focus to include ethical governance, regulatory frameworks, and risk management in response to the growth of generative AI technologies. In 2023, the Taiwan AI Center of Excellence (Taiwan AICoE), a government-backed hub, was established by the National Science and Technology Council to accelerate AI development, foster international collaboration, and train talent in Taiwan. It acts as a specialized think tank focusing on creating a "smart technology island" by integrating AI resources and developing trusted, human-centric AI technologies. In 2024, the Taiwan Chip-based Industrial Innovation Program (CbI) was launched by the Executive Yuan as a 10-year, NT$300 billion (US$9.3 billion) initiative to leverage Taiwan's semiconductor dominance, driving innovation in AI, smart mobility, manufacturing, and healthcare. It aims to combine generative AI with IC technology, cultivate talent, and attract global startups to build a "Silicon Island". In parallel, the Taiwanese government has explored legislative frameworks such as a proposed Artificial Intelligence Fundamental Act in December 2025, addressing issues including data protection, safety standards, and intellectual property. == Industrial structure == === Semiconductor and hardware foundation === Taiwan's AI industry is closely linked to its semiconductor sector. In 2020, Taiwan accounted for approximately 77.3% of the global wafer foundry market and 57.7% of packaging and testing, with a 20.1% share in integrated circuit (IC) design. These capabilities provide critical infrastructure for AI systems, which rely on high-performance computing hardware. Taiwanese firms are also involved in the production of AI servers and related components, contributing significantly to global supply chains for data centers and cloud computing. The integration of chip design, manufacturing, and assembly has enabled Taiwan to play a central role in providing the computational resources required for AI development. On 20 November 2025, Google established the "Google Taiwan AI Infrastructure R&D Center", second only to its US headquarters and largest AI hardware infrastructure engineering center outside of the United States. === Software and services === Compared to its hardware capabilities, Taiwan's AI software sector is less developed. The absence of large-scale global AI platform companies has been noted as a structural limitation. As a result, much of Taiwan's AI industry focuses on applied solutions, including customization of existing AI models for specific industries. Therefore, efforts to strengthen software capabilities have included investment in research institutions, startup ecosystems, and collaborations between academia and industry. == Applications == === Smart manufacturing === AI has been widely applied in Taiwan's manufacturing sector, which is a major component of the economy. Applications include process automation, predictive maintenance, quality control, and fault detection. AI-enabled smart manufacturing systems aim to improve efficiency, reduce production costs, and enhance product quality. Taiwan's manufacturing industry has incorporated AI technologies into production lines, particularly in electronics and machinery sectors. === Healthcare === The use of AI in healthcare in Taiwan has expanded in areas such as medical imaging, diagnostics, and drug development. AI systems are used to analyze CT scans, MRI data, and other clinical information to support diagnosis and treatment planning. Taiwan's healthcare sector, which includes medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and medical services, has benefited from the integration of AI technologies, particularly in precision medicine and clinical decision support systems. A notable example of AI healthcare deployment in Taiwan is the collaboration between Siemens Healthineers, Ever Fortune AI, and Asia University Hospital. === Edge computing and IoT === AI applications in Taiwan increasingly involve edge computing, where data processing occurs near the source rather than in centralized cloud systems. This approach reduces latency and bandwidth requirements and is used in smart devices, sensors, and industrial equipment. Edge AI technologies are applied in areas such as smart appliances, industrial automation, and transportation systems. == Education and talent development == Human capital development has been a key focus of Taiwan's AI strategy. The Taiwan AI Academy, established in 2018 with support from Academia Sinica and industry partners, provides training programs for professionals and students aimed at accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence technologies across industries. The academy offers a range of courses, including executive-level programs, technical training, and specialized tracks in areas such as smart manufacturing, smart healthcare, and edge AI. These programs are designed to provide intensive and practical instruction over relatively short periods. A notable component of the curriculum is project-based learning, in which participants are required to complete proof-of-concept (POC) projects addressing real-world industrial problems. These projects are often developed further for implementation within companies, facilitating technology transfer and commercialization. Between 2018 and 2021, more than 8,000 individuals completed AI training programs across campuses in Taipei, Hsinchu, Taichung, and Tainan. Graduates of the academy have contributed to the introduction of AI systems in sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, and finance, supporting broader industrial transformation efforts. In addition to the Taiwan AI Academy, universities and research institutions in Taiwan play a significant role in AI education and research. Leading universities have expanded programs in computer science, data science, and machine learning, while research institutes conduct applied and fundamental studies in artificial intelligence. Collaboration between academia, government, and industry is a common feature of Taiwan's AI ecosystem, with joint research projects, internship programs, and technology incubation initiatives supporting talent development. Government-supported initiatives have also sought to attract and retain AI talent, including funding for graduate education, international collaboration programs, and incentives for industry–academic partnerships. These efforts aim to address talent shortages and strengthen Taiwan's capacity in both applied and foundational AI research. == Regulation and governance == Taiwan has developed guidelines and policy frameworks to address the risks associated with AI technologies. In 2023, the Executive Yuan issued guidelines for the use of generative AI in government agencies, focusing on data security and privacy. Ongoing policy discussions hav
LiveChat
LiveChat is an AI customer service software with chatbot, online chat, help desk software, and web analytics capabilities. LiveChat is used by over 76,000 companies. It was first launched in 2002 and is offered via a SaaS (software as a service) business model by Text. Organizations use LiveChat as a single point of contact to manage customer service and online sales activities with a single program. == Product == LiveChat is proprietary software. LiveChat's website chat widget can be embedded on customers' websites as a small chat box, often displayed in the bottom right corner of the web browser. It can be used to conduct chats, share files and save transcripts. The agent application is used by company employees to respond to questions asked by the customers. This is available through both web-based application, desktop applications, and mobile apps. Web chat sessions can be initiated by the visiting customer, or by the agent, either manually or automatically by the LiveChat system when the visitor meets the predefined criteria (i.e. searched keyword, time on website, encountered error, etc.). LiveChat's system attempts to identify the best prospects visiting a website based on data gathered from past purchasing decisions. Other features include real-time website traffic monitoring, built-in ticketing system and agents' efficiency analytics. LiveChat is available in 48 languages. == Research and reception == Reviewing LiveChat's usefulness for online learning in 2020, psychologist Jaclyn Broadbent said "LiveChat occurs as a real-time conversation, it can be time-consuming for staff and disruptive to other tasks." However, using it has resulted in reduced communication traffic from other channels, such as the discussion boards or email. As a teacher, the best time to be available on LiveChat is when you are doing other administrative jobs." Since 2014 LiveChat has been publishing Customer Service Report - an annual study of customer satisfaction and analysis of online business communication trends. It includes research of thousands of companies and millions of customer service email and live support interactions.
PureXML
pureXML is the native XML storage feature in the IBM Db2 data server. pureXML provides query languages, storage technologies, indexing technologies, and other features to support XML data. The word pure in pureXML was chosen to indicate that Db2 natively stores and natively processes XML data in its inherent hierarchical structure, as opposed to treating XML data as plain text or converting it into a relational format. == Technical information == Db2 includes two distinct storage mechanisms: one for efficiently managing traditional SQL data types, and another for managing XML data. The underlying storage mechanism is transparent to users and applications; they simply use SQL (including SQL with XML extensions or SQL/XML) or XQuery to work with the data. XML data is stored in columns of Db2 tables that have the XML data type. XML data is stored in a parsed format that reflects the hierarchical nature of the original XML data. As such, pureXML uses trees and nodes as its model for storing and processing XML data. If you instruct Db2 to validate XML data against an XML schema prior to storage, Db2 annotates all nodes in the XML hierarchy with information about the schema types; otherwise, it will annotate the nodes with default type information. Upon storage, Db2 preserves the internal structure of XML data, converting its tag names and other information into integer values. Doing so helps conserve disk space and also improves the performance of queries that use navigational expressions. However, users aren't aware of this internal representation. Finally, Db2 automatically splits XML nodes across multiple database pages, as needed. XML schemas specify which XML elements are valid, in what order these elements should appear in XML data, which XML data types are associated with each element, and so on. pureXML allows you to validate the cells in a column of XML data against no schema, one schema, or multiple schemas. pureXML also provides tools to support evolving XML schemas. IBM has enhanced its programming language interfaces to support access to its XML data. These enhancements span Java (JDBC), C (embedded SQL and call-level interface), COBOL (embedded SQL), PHP, and Microsoft's .NET Framework (through the DB2.NET provider). == History == pureXML was first included in the DB2 9 for Linux, Unix, and Microsoft Windows release, which was codenamed Viper, in June 2006. It was available on DB2 9 for z/OS in March 2007. In October 2007, IBM released DB2 9.5 with improved XML data transaction performance and improved storage savings. In June 2009, IBM released DB2 9.7 with XML supported for database-partitioned, range-partitioned, and multi-dimensionally clustered tables as well as compression of XML data and indices. == Competition == Db2 is a hybrid data server—it offers data management for traditional relational data, as well as providing native XML data management. Other vendors that offer data management for both relational data and native XML storage include Oracle with its 11g product and Microsoft with its SQL Server product. pureXML also competes with native XML databases like BaseX, eXist, MarkLogic or Sedna. == Books == IBM International Technical Support Organization (ITSO) has published the following books, which are available in print or as free e-books: DB2 9: pureXML Overview and Fast Start DB2 9 pureXML Guide The following books are also available for purchase: DB2 pureXML Cookbook: Master the Power of IBM Hybrid Data Server == Education and training == The following pureXML classroom and online courses are available from IBM Education: Query and Manage XML Data with DB2 9. IBM course CG130. Classroom. Duration: 4 days. Query XML Data with DB2 9. IBM course CG100. Classroom. Duration: 2 days (first 2 days of CG130). Managing XML Data in DB2 9. IBM course CG160. Classroom. Duration: 2 days (last 2 days of CG130). DB2 pureXML. IBM Course CT140. Self-paced study plus Live Virtual Classroom.