The Journal of Systems and Software publishes papers covering all aspects of programming methodology, software engineering and related hardware/software systems issues. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, software systems, prototyping issues, high-level specification techniques, procedural and functional programming techniques, data-flow concepts, multiprocessing, real-time, distributed, concurrent, and telecommunications systems, software metrics, reliability models for software, performance issues, and management concerns. The journal publishes research papers, state-of-the-art surveys, and reports of practical experience.