Symmetry/Asymmetry and Software Engineering
A special issue of Symmetry (ISSN 2073-8994). This special issue belongs to the section "Computer".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 3
Special Issue Editor
Interests: adaptive software architecture; operating systems; information systems; mobile development; Internet of Things; object-oriented approach; aspect-oriented approach; cloud computing
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Software engineering today operates across multiple concurrent dimensions, including architecture, performance, scalability, security, reliability, usability, and lifecycle sustainability. Modern systems—from distributed cloud platforms and edge/IoT ecosystems to AI-driven intelligent applications—impose complex and sometimes conflicting requirements. As a result, practical solutions that enhance one dimension often inadvertently degrade another, creating asymmetric trade-offs that must be systematically understood and optimized.
Given the diversity and rapid evolution of contemporary system architectures, development paradigms, and engineering aims, it is increasingly important for software engineering research to be grounded in rigorous, up-to-date theoretical foundations while remaining applicable to real-world constraints. Symmetry and asymmetry provide a powerful conceptual lens for analyzing these multidimensional interactions, whether in structural design, algorithmic behavior, performance patterns, fault tolerance, or socio-technical aspects of system development.
This Special Issue seeks contributions that advance the theoretical, methodological, and empirical understanding of how symmetry and asymmetry shape the design, analysis, optimization, and evolution of modern software systems. We especially encourage submissions that address any of the following:
- New models and theories explaining multidimensional trade-offs;
- Analytical frameworks for identifying symmetry-breaking scenarios in software processes or architectures;
- Engineering methods that balance conflicting goals using symmetry-aware or asymmetry-aware principles;
- Empirical studies demonstrating practical implications in real systems;
- AI-enabled or data-driven approaches that reveal latent symmetric/asymmetric patterns in software artifacts or behaviors.
Through this Special Issue, we aim to build a scholarly dialog that connects emerging theoretical perspectives with practical software engineering challenges, offering insights that can guide the next generation of software design and development.
Dr. Paniti Netinant
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Symmetry is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- symmetry and asymmetry in software architecture
- trade-off analysis and optimization in software systems
- symmetry-breaking in distributed and cloud systems
- asymmetric performance and scalability patterns
- software design patterns and structural symmetry
- fault tolerance, reliability, and asymmetric failure modes
- security and privacy asymmetry in software engineering
- AI-driven analysis of symmetric and asymmetric software behaviors
- human–software interaction and socio-technical asymmetry
- lifecycle sustainability and evolution of asymmetric software systems
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