JON DEVELOPMENT Pest O PO MEEKNAPPLICAT Integrated CASE Tools To Shine in IS MetamorphosiS generation. As shown in the figure, the desktop ICASE tools that support the en- ih b i le and generate CO- code-generation components of major [ ee OE process be ppi ih Until recently, PC-based ICASE tools, such as Information Engineering Work- As the applica- J ] ai PC (06 lonsdevelopmen lication Development CASE tools are moving on h o | SRS ; V obeti rem KrovledjeVare ne, users can now buy comparable PC prod- - both IBM and MNE o ONI odene Information Engineering Facility (IEF) ucts for less than $10,000. tools will support rapid pi evolves, it is no longer economi- cally practical for information -sys- tems (IS) depart- ments to hand: code large, strate- gic systems with third-generation languages such as COBOL and C. IS is undergo- ing a retooling process in which it is embracing more powertful technologies, including new ar- chitectures—among them, IBM's Systems Application Architecture (SAA) and Digital Eguipment Corp.s Network Ap- plication Support (NAS)—and new types of development tools, such as inte- grated computer-aided software engi- neering (I-CASE) programs. CASE tools will play a significant role in the metamorphosis of IS because of sev- eral advantages. These tools support all phases of development and can generate source code for an entire application from a single repository of design dons. The components of I-CASE tools are ilustrated in the figure. Front-end de- sign facilities typically include planning, analysis and design workbenches. The planning workbench handles strategic from Texas Instruments Inc., PACBase from CGI Systems Inc. and APS Devel- opment Center from Sage Software Inc., KnowledgeWare, with the delivery of x its Construction Workbench module, be- — cess vla came the first LCASE tool vendor to of- the desktop and will deliver database ac- the industry-standard Structured Guery Language d It is important to look for ICASE Components of an Integrated-CASE Facility Specifications generated on the desktop with an -CASE tool can be consolidated on the LAN, then further consolidated on the corporate mainframe; each level uses a common data model. Corporate V repository Project repository mm Persona| repository Code generation ; vse tools that are capable of generating SAA applications that use a common user, programming and communication ' interface, and are compljant with IBM's AD/Cycle repository CASE standard. ICASE products will rapidly evolve into "industrial-strength" CASE facilities that can be harnessed to create applica- tions of varying complexity. Their ability to produce complete application code on the desktop in close concert with end us- ers—coupled with new methodologies such as rapid applications development — will add to this growing phenomenon. Another major change on the horizon is the consolidation of design specifications on a LAN. Until recently, a mainframe was reguired to consolidate specifications servers such as Compag Computer Corp:s ' Systempro or IBMs RISC 6000. -.. Next week, I will discuss the central - role of the CASE tool repository. E - The concepts embodied in this article are described in the CASE volume in The James Martin Report Series. For more information on this volume, call (617) 639-1958. For information on seminars, contact (in the United States and Canada) Technology Transfer In- stitute, 741 10ih St., Santa Monica, planning, enterprise modeling and high- level data modeling; the analysis work- bench supports business-area analyses and detailed data modeling; and the de- sign workbench's chief domain is the ' | creation of prototype applications. Prototype development includes the specification of sereens, reports, dia- oha Avakian fer a PC solution that generates com. plete application code. Later this year, Texas Instruments will introduce an 08/2 version of IEF that can be used to generate entire applications on the desk: still reguired back-end code-, database- and documentation-generation main: frame components. The mainframe code- and database-generation portions typically cost $200,000 to $300,000, se- logues, procedural logic and database ac- verely limiting their applicability. top in either COBOL or C. Calif. 90402 (213) 394-8305. In Eu- cess. Prototype applications help the or- Within the past year, however, I- 'The offerings of these firms demon- . rope, contact Savani, 2 New St., ganization verify that the evolving ap- CASE tools have rapidly matured, par- strate where the ICASE tool market is Carnforth, Lancs., LA5 9BX United, plication meets its business needs. ticularly in the area of desktop code headed. Managers should expect to see Kingdom (052%) 734 505. Micro Focus COBOL/2 Workbench" Isa Hit! | COBOL/2 Workbench is a "superb interactive environment" and "professionally crafted," according to recent product review. SCOREBOAAO s m Micro Focus COBOV2 We're very proud of COBOL/2 Workbench. And we're very gratified mainframe heritage with the artful design of the | Workbench environment."... and "Micro Focus" debug-. imi at achieving a weighted score of 9,6. ger, the ANIMATOR, lives up to its name with elegant: to k when measured against corporate displaysthattraceexecution through structural diagrams e z (IAWEEK ii preferences in a recent PC | as wellas through highlighted source code." : o ei ee poe nemih me rabite programmers ; . pol o If you or your organization want to improve program- ua am our mainframe COBOL mer productivity, re-enginecr existing COBOL applica- uentiai Jeam, Amcuba LO sgopattilin lures to our easy-lo-. — lions for new needs, or develop high performance, easy COBOL/? Workbench m m, Micro Focus to maintain business applications for PCs, LANs, or perienced developer" m O support ihe ex- ion from terminals mainframes, give us a call at Micro Focus, We sell | "Better Way of Programming" solutions. to workstations for programming and maintenance tasks, And ihere's more ..."Micro Focus belies COBOL-'s Call Micro Focus today at 1-800-872-6265 and reguest a reprint of (he entire PC Week review. MICRO FOCUS: |implementoti Weighted Score Reprinted trom PC Week May 28, 1990. Coyyrighu (6) 1990 2147 Communicariona a alla nn PN an A V A ME