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Applications Programming, Backlog, Applications Backlog, Prototype, Methods, Information Systems, System Design, and Models

A prototyping development method is presented here which has the potential to reduce the growing application development backlog. Prior research and our findings indicate that a prototyping process can assist in the efficient development of application systems by breaking a complex problem into several comprehensive parts. A state-transition model of the IS development process is presented and discussed. A two-prototype method is explained in the context of this model. Two projects are described which are typical of development efforts made by end users in a microcomputer environment and IS specialists in a mainframe environement. (Reprinted by Permission of Publisher.)

Ink Jet Printer, Printers, Hybrid Circuits, Circuit Printing, Integrated Circuit Fabrication, Methods, Substrates, and Microelectronics

Rapid prototyping is possible in computer controlled ink jet printing of hybrid circuits. Other advantages of this kind of printing are also analyzed. Development of the ink jet printer is discussed. This printing is feasible for printing well defined conductor lines. Spray control parameters of the printer are analytically expressed. A block diagram of the ink jet printing system is included. Photographs show line formation. Graphs show the effect of substrate speed and frequency on line widths and thickness of silver films.

Circuit Design, Guidelines, Metallurgy, Substrates, Materials Analysis, Prototype, Technology, Resistor, Conductors, and Circuitry

Utilization of porcelain enameled metal substrate (PEMS) technology requires multiple rounds of prototyping. Materials capabilities are analyzed for PEMS. Design guidelines help in utilization of PEMS. Several guidelines are given. A table lists metal thicknesses. A diagram indicates dimensional adjustments required.

Software, Process Control, Real-Time System, Software Engineering, Application Development Software, Programming, Prototype, Requirements Analysis, and System Development

Large-scale software requires effective management for production. Such large-scale software consists of application software, a utility subsystem, and an operating system. Individual software factories require levels of abstraction in a design process which uses prototyping, reusing, and program generating systems. The first level is the requirements level which defines the external devices with which the software communicates. A capsulated form of a requirements description is shown. The data-function or design level is the transition, the definition of a user's needs and the establishment of the model. Program models are defined and implemented in the program level. Prototyping is done throughout the entire process for the first operational versions of software interfaces. Productivity and reliability are the most crucial factors in management of a software factory. In addition to the encapsulated format examples, numerous block diagrams illustrate software production and the rolling mill software production example.

Prototype, Specifications, Performance Specifications, Software Engineering, Program Development Techniques, and Comparative Study

There has been much discussion on the relative merits of the specification-driven approach to software development versus the prototyping approach. An experiment has been conducted to give some basis for comparison of the two approaches. Seven software teams developed the same application software product. Three used the prototyping approach, four the specifying approach. Results indicate that prototyping required less effort and less code for equivalent performance. Prototyped products were easier to learn and use but rated lower on functionality and robustness. Specified products were easier to integrate.

Software Engineering, Software Design, System Development, Requirements Analysis, Specifications, Methods, Software Maintenance, Software Metrics, and Software Quality

Software engineering seeks to devise techniques for software development. Software systems go through two principal phases: development, and operations and maintenance. The conventional design-scheme requires that a large amount of time be spent developing specifications. Alternative schemes, include rapid prototyping, the very high level language approach, and the reusability approach. The design phase includes the decomposition of the requirement specification into certain basic elements and partitioning the set of decomposed elements into modules. Current design methodologies include functional decomposition, the data-flow design, and the data-structure design. Software maintenance can be divided into three categories: perfective, adaptive, and corrective maintenance. Software quality assurance aims to optimize reliability, reusability, and efficiency. Tables, graphs, and diagrams illustrate many of the features of software engineering.

Programming, Programming Language, Software Engineering, Methods, and I/O Management

Responding to a letter from Robert Baber (Computer, June 1985, p. 112), a reader disagrees with the conclusion that I-O is a conceptual block which hampers software development and argues instead that it is the central concept of intelligible programs. Current programming languages are certainly inadequate, in that they confuse design with implementation. These separate concerns should be dealt with in separate languages, and separate prototyping notions for designer and user should be added. Thus interprocess communication is a vital concept, of which I-O is the simplest expression.

Prototype, Design, Computer-Aided Design, and Boards/Cards

Building a prototype board is the last stage in the design process. The design for a board can be sent to an independent shop or it can be fabricated in-house. A tape is usually produced by CAD systems. Wire wrapping is the oldest approach to board prototyping. New approaches are represented by a liquid-chemistry process or a milling process.

Computer aided design, interactive software, man-machine interaction, software prototyping, modeling, Electronic computers. Computer science, and QA75.5-76.95

Computer aided design (CAD) systems, or more generally interactive software, are today being developed for various application areas like VLSI-design, mechanical structure design, avionics design, cartographic design, architectual design, office automation, publishing, etc. Such tools are becoming more and more important in order to be productive and to be able to design quality products. One important part of CAD-software development is the man-machine interface (MMI) design.

Computer-Aided Software Engineering, Systems, Functional Capabilities, Applications, Outlook, Market, Hardware Vendors, Trends, Programming, Applications Backlog, Performance, Evaluation, and ADA

Software is 80 percent of new systems development cost, software maintenance costs are even greater, there is a 30 month software development backlog, and the annual need for programmers is over twice this year's 55,000 computer science graduates and getting worse. Consequently, there will be a $1 billion market for computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools by 1990. CASE tools are either non-language-specific or language-specific, most commonly Ada because of federal demand, and provide modular development in analysis, design, prototyping, coding, testing, integration, and maintenance. Several CASE systems are described in detail.

Programming Language, Expert Systems, Software Design, Evaluation, System Design, Application Development Software, and Small-X (Program development software)

Small-X is a programming language designed for building expert systems that is not for the computer novice. A Small-X program consists of statements called rules. The language provides two key features that distinguish it from other languages: a set of pattern-matching and evaluation functions, and the automatic handling of control flow. Small-X also has good debug features that allow users to trace rules. The manual for Small-X is complete and well-written. The language serves as a tool for learning about expert systems and for prototyping trial applications, but it is not the most trustworthy of program development systems.

Object-Oriented Languages, programming languages (electronic computers), Evaluation, Performance, Functional Capabilities, and Dynamic Programming

Smalltalk is an object-oriented programming language in which objects represents data sets plus functions. The objects are composed of classes of reusable and redefinable building blocks, and messages are sent to objects for data or for action. Advantages include an open and interactive environment, incremental and dynamic program development providing easy applications prototyping, programming by refinement, and lack of distinguishing between data and code enabling creation of programs that can dynamically build other programs, all providing high programmer productivity. Major commercial applications include artificial intelligence, R&D, and business and technical analysis.

Programming Language, Programming, Scientific Research, and Mathematical Programming

We describe linear future semantics, an extension of linear history semantics as introduced by Francez, Lehmann, and Pnueli, and show how it can be used to add multiprocessing to languages given by standard continuation semantics. We then demonstrate how the resulting semantics can be implemented. The implementation uses functional abstractions and non-determinacy to represent the sets of answers in the semantics. We give an example, using a semantic prototyping system based on the language Scheme. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Programming Language, PROLOG, Compiler/decompiler, and Algorithm

The use of Prolog as a language offers advantages for describing succinctly most of the algorithms needed in prototyping and implementing compilers, or producing tools that facilitate the task of compiling. One approach in implementing compilers using Prolog consists of coupling actions to recursive descent parsers to produce syntax-trees, which are utilized in guiding the generation of assembly code. Prolog is not only used in parsing and compiling, but is a labor-saving device in prototyping and implementing many non-numerical algorithms which arise in compiling. Unification and nondeterminism as means to circumvent costly unnecessary features are also discussed. Other topics include: bottom-up and top-down parsers; syntax-directed translation; grammar properties; code generation; and newly proposed features for compiler construction.

Prototype, New Technique, Application Development Software, Object-Oriented Languages, Smalltalk (Computer program language), Software Design, and Software Engineering

The Smalltalk object-oriented programming language developed at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center in the early 1970s offers a completely new environment for software development. Smalltalk is not easy to learn, even for programmers with experience in standard languages. Excellent references to Smalltalk are the Blue Book and the Orange Book: the Blue Book deals mainly with features of the language, while the Orange Book deals with the environment. Learning the language poses a short-term disadvantage, but the long-term gains in productivity may be worth the initial investment. Commercial versions of Smalltalk are available on workstations like the Tektronix 440X series, the Sun, and the IBM PC AT; implementations for the MicroVAX are under development.

PROLOG, Program Logic, Data Structures, Language Analysis, programming languages (electronic computers), Language Complexity, Applications Programming, Enhancements, Productivity, Artificial Intelligence, Expert Systems, and System Design

The Prolog programming language manipulates complex data structures and flexibly presents real-world knowledge using the same inference methods that humans use in reasoning. Prolog is one of the two most commonly used languages in artificial intelligence, along with LISP; it can run on machines ranging from microcomputers to mainframes, has modest memory requirements, and can be used with a wide range of operating systems, including UNIX, VMS, and DOS. Other Prolog advantages include its speed, explanation facilities, natural-language processing capabilities, and pattern-matching mechanism. Prolog is easy to use, accurate, an excellent prototyping tool, and well suited to integration with other software and use in data processing. Current Prolog applications include, but are not limited to, CAD-CAM, process control, compiler implementation, and natural-language processing.

System Development, Comparative Study, System Design, Design, Methods, Project Management Software, Requirements Analysis, Research and Development, and Prototype

This article presents a retrospective comparative study of the use of the system development life cycle (SDLC) and prototyping methods to help select a development approach for a given information systems (IS) project. The respondents were asked (a) to decide independently whether one of their recent IS projects was developed using either the SDLC or prototyping approach and if so, (b) to evaluate the merit of that approach in terms of ease of project management, project requirements, project characteristics, impact on decision making, and user and designer satisfaction. The results indicate: (1.) Design methods cannot be considered apart from project, environment and decision characteristics. (2.) A clear cut preference of one method over the other could not be established. Each method performed better in some areas that in others. (3.) A framework that can be used by a project director for selecting a design method to develop a system could be postulated. (Reprinted with permission of the publisher.)

Application Development Software, Prototype, and Programming

Logic programming has great potential for reducing the cost of software development. We argue that, with an appropriate programming methodology, a logic programming system provides a powerful tool for rapid software prototyping. It is sufficiently formal and high-level to allow reasoning about specifications, and it provides an immediate operational validation of the programmer's intuitions. The methodology is introduced by means of an example larger than those usually used to illustrate the advantages of logic programming. We start with an informal specification of a structure-editor, show how it is formalized into a directly executable prototype, and introduce guidelines for validating logic programming code as implemented in Prolog. The developed prototype can be used for a number of applications: syntax-directed editor, semantic network browser, etc. The editor is compact but readable, and is quite efficient. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Power Systems, Artificial Intelligence, and Energy Management

Designers of Energy Management Systems (EMS) use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to solve diagnosis and decision problems making EMS more useful. The use of AI in EMS is explained, and differences between knowledge-based expert systems and traditional numeric algorithm development are examined. The differences between expert systems and the numeric approach are illustrated with a relay fault diagnosis system, demonstrating both the traditional and rapid prototyping approaches to its development. AI implementation in EMS and potential AI applications to power system operations are explored.

Semantics, Programming Language, Graph Theory, Hardware Description Language, and Artificial Intelligence

Systems semantics is a concept which extends programming languages' denotational semantics into a semantics for describing arbitrary systems. The arbitrary systems include objects that are in no sense computations. Two classes of applications are discussed: unidirectional systems and nonunidirectional systems. A brief discussion is also included of implementation and rapid prototyping strategies in various system description environments.

Software Packages, Documentation, Text Processing Software, Technical Writing, User-Written Software, Electronic Publishing Industry, and Symbolics Inc.

Concordia is designed as a development environment for technical writers. From Symbolics, Concordia is an extension of Genera, the software development environment for Symbolics computers. Concordia has specialized support of the different phases of a document life cycle: writing, editing illustration, design, production, and maintenance. Concordia is part of the Symbolics documentation system, where the central component is the document database. It is a framework organizing the tasks and activities in the document life cycle, with three main subactivities: text editing, graphic editing, and previewing. Concordia provides a number of ways of looking at a document, including: seeing the reader's viewpoint (WYSIWYG), local hardcopy, preview, and final hardcopy. The approach has been particularly successful in the areas of fast prototyping, on-line delivery, quality enhancement, and maintenance.

Information Systems, Decision Support Software, Operations Research, Technology, New Technique, Maintenance, Support Services, Systems Analysis, and System Design

It is shown that systems maintenance activity in large information systems would benefit greatly if the process knowledge reflecting the teleology of a design could be captured. It could be used to anticipate the consequences of changing conditions or requirements. Representation and Maintenance of Process knowledge (REMAP) is a formalism that accumulates design process knowledge to manage systems evolution. REMAP acquires and maintains dependencies among the design decisions made during a prototyping process and learns general domain-specific design rules on which the dependencies are based. The knowledge is applicable to prototype refinement, systems maintenance, and the reuse of existing design or software fragments to construct similar ones with analogical reasoning techniques.

Prototype, New Technique, Utilization, Functional Capabilities, Computer-Aided Software Engineering, and Cost Benefit Analysis

Computer-aided software prototyping from specifications and reusable components is a viable strategy for improving programming productivity, and such a system is described. The system uses the powerful and easy-to-use PSDL prototype system description (specification) language and a set of software tools. PSDL provides a computational model that integrates dataflow, unified non-procedural controls, and timing. The tools include an execution support system, a rewrite system for reducing variations explicit from the specifications, a syntax-directed editor with graphics tools, a software base of reusable components, a design database, and a program design management system for organizing, retrieving, and effecting reusable components as well as controlling versions, alternates, and refinements of the software product.

ISDN, Simulation, Prototype, ISO, and Algorithm

Veda, a simulator software tool, may be used by designers for protocol modeling and verification. It can provide rapid prototypes of distributed algorithms, and describes them using Estelle, an ISO formal description technique. Uses for Veda include: ISDN specifications; radiotelephone protocols; switching designs; satellite protocols; and remote maintenance.

Software Engineering, Modeling, Methods, Real-Time System, Process Control, and Programming Language

A language model, the Abstract Interaction Tool (AIT), is introduced for the specification of the User Interface Management Systems. It offers a tree-like hierarchy of interaction objects. Each object can be considered as an abstract input device containing a syntax-like specification of the required input pattern. The hierarchy of specifications makes up a system of syntactical productions with multiple control. The interface to the physical interaction devices is represented by the terminal nodes of the AIT. Hierarchical output resource management is featured, and at the higher, more abstract level, the input-output is loosely coupled. Coupling becomes increasingly tight at the lower levels. AITs model the functions (what) required by the user at the upper levels, but at the lower levels, the way to accomplish them (how) is emphasized. Facilities exist for context-dependent and expertise levels. Links to application modes are provided in a special section in the AIT. AITs can be applied to graphics, process control, dialogue, and real-time systems. They can also define controlled production rules in knowledge-based systems and provide tools for the software engineering phases specification and prototyping.

Adaptability, Parallel Algorithms, Program Development Techniques, Concurrent Programming, and Tuning

To facilitate extensive experimentation with program prototypes, a programming system that supports rapid prototyping of parallel programs needs to provide high-level language primitives with which programs can be explicitly, statically, or dynamically tuned with respect to performance and reliability. Language primitives and an associated programming system for tuning are described and implemented. They have been tested with various parallel applications on workstations on a UNIX network.

Software Packages, Microcomputer, Computer-Aided Engineering, Application-Specific Integrated Circuit, Design, Low Cost, New Product, IC Designs Inc. -- Product information, and IC Works (Computer program) -- Design and construction

IC Designs is a start-up company that aims to make ASIC design more widely available by offering a way to drastically reduce ASIC design costs. The firm offers a low-priced toolset, a low-volume prototyping and production service, and actual working ASIC prototypes for under $5,000. The $10,000 IC Works is a complete, low-cost PC AT-based software package with a toolset for standard cell design. Featured are a library of 100 components and parameterized module generators for programmable logic arrays, RAMs, and ROMs. IC Works includes the QSim simulator and two timing verifiers and provides a layout program, a floor-planning tool, and an interactive placement and routing tool. IC Works is limited to designs with less than 5,000 gates and clock speeds up to 20 MHz and provides only tools for chip-level design. IC Designs provides both silicon and tools, placing the firm between CAE companies and ASIC foundries.

Strategic Planning, System Development, Optimization, Tutorial, Software Engineering, Business Planning, and Software Design

Delaying commitment to a particular software design reduces several problems resulting from premature commitment including: lack of freedom for iterative design, increased maintenance costs, increased effects of bugs, and nonportability of software. Delaying commitment provides time to search for the most effective solution and increases the opportunity to recognize it. Tactics to delay commitment to a final design include: use of modular programming, choice of parameters appropriate to a problem, keeping the problem and solution as general as possible, retain options to choose a parallel program solution, do not use prototyping tools, use abstractions, and use interfaces.

Research and Development, System Design, System Development, Methods, Cost Benefit Analysis, Specifications, Modeling, Very-Large-Scale Integration, and AT&T Bell Laboratories Inc. -- Product development

AT&T Bell Laboratories has developed a flexible, easy-to-use system, Cones, for the automatic synthesis of gate-level standard cell, programmable logic array, and programmable logic device designs from behavioral designs written in C. Design goals or existing behavioral models are input to an interactive process of partitioning, simulation, and modeling to produce behavioral models with sufficient logic detail. Cones then implements general sequential logic from the models in PLA and standard cell architectures for VLSI devices or as PLDs for prototyping and low-volume production. Advantages of the strategy include: reduction in design errors, decrease in design effort and time, only limited knowledge of the implementation technology is required, design intent can be used at a higher level of abstraction, and designers can focus on device function.

Prototype, Programming Language, Language Analysis, New Technique, Scientific Research, Technology, Program Development Techniques, Language Translation, and Application Development Software

Languages are vital for computer-based problem solving for their ability to specify how to compute solutions as well as for understanding the solutions conceptually and describing them. Software technological advances center primarily on more sophisticated tools and models of computation: languages determine the computer's sophistication through such features as editors, compilers, and command interpreters. The importance of languages has motivated considerable research on language classification, characterization, and recognition. Translator construction remains a mystery of computer science, however, and the regular expressions, terminals, non-terminals, and grammars used by the translator writer to think are not represented well in the translators themselves. The uses and advantages of a language designed especially for describing and constructing translators is described.

Software Design, Prototype, New Technique, Modeling, and American Telephone and Telegraph Co. -- Product development

It has been observed that the challenge of improving software productivity and quality is not just to 'do the thing right' but to ' do the right thing right.' Doing the right thing means building products and services that meet real customer needs. Specification is the first step in deriving system design from an understanding of customer needs. Technology to support software specification can, therefore, provide productivity and quality benefits that accrue through the entire product life cycle. Prototyping is an approach to system design in which a model of the system is quickly built and iteratively refined so as to become increasingly realistic. Experience with the evolving prototype leads to an improved understanding of system functionality, dynamics, and performance so that the resulting products and services are known to match customer needs before they are built. This article describes two promising approaches -- software architecture modeling and application-oriented languages -- for improving software development productivity and quality through support for software specification and prototyping. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher)

Expert Systems, Artificial Intelligence, Simulation, Applications, and Control Equipment

A Petri net is a modelling tool used in the design and analysis of systems. The expert system language OPS5 has a similar execution strategy to a Petri net model, and hence Petri nets may be simulated using the OPS5 language. ESPNET has been designed to be used in a rapid prototyping mode to allow users to quickly develop simulation models of the work flow through manufacturing systems. The system described takes a Petri net for its input, and then generates an OPS5 simulator as output. The simulation model developed may then be used to size flexible assembly systems and flexible manufacturing systems based on the system performance and resource utilisation data generated by the model. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Fourth-Generation Language, Functional Capabilities, Forecasting, Programming, Programming Management, Performance Improvement, and Estimation

Function-point analysis was used for estimating Cocomo (Constructive Cost Model) tools for the subsequent effort and schedule of the development of an application using Microdata's Application Language Liberator (ALL) fourth-generation language (4GL). The problem was to develop an information system for a correspondence school with numerous and diverse students. A 4GL was chosen for high productivity, functional prototyping capabilities, suitability to the data's characteristics, and ease of use. ALL provided good performance, its Pick operating system handled data irregularities well, relative ease of learning and use, and functional capabilities. Function-point analysis and Cocomo tools provided reasonable guages of ALL application development. Details of the implementation and results are described.

Command-Driven User Interfaces, Interactive Systems, Operating System, Application Development Software, Prototype, Applications Programming, and Software Design

A promising approach to the design of dialog between a user and an interactive program is developed. The method provides a system, called XS-2, that integrates specification, rapid prototyping, and the actual use of application dialogs. The XS-2 command language grammar, a non-procedural description language based on regular expressions, is used to specify commands of any application program. The syntax of the command specification is made visible to the user; command names and their activation rules are displayed as a command tree. A small set of tools is thus provided for the development and automatic translation of the command specification into a prototype application module in Modula-2, and therefore no programming work is needed to design and evaluate the commands of an application. An advanced end user can develop his own prototype application without a programmer's assistance.

Automatic Programming, Program Generators, Requirements Analysis, and System Development

The expectations of and myths about automatic programming have evolved in concert with research and commercial developments in programming tools. Automatic programming uses procedural, transformational, deductive and inspection methods for converting user domain specific knowledge into implementation specific action or programs. Unfortunately there are several user myths as to the capabilities and requirements of such tools. A variety of commercially available systems with limited automatic programming functioning include: database query systems, fourth-generation languages, program generators, high-level design aids, project management tools and high-level prototyping languages. The progress in such computer-aided software engineering tools is rapid, but several programming management problems must also be addressed to support the potential of automatic programming.

Technology, Boolean Algebra, Distributed Systems, Executable Statements, Specifications, Finite State Automata, Switching, Models, and Computational Complexity

A specification model that is based on the finite state machine, but that is also distributed, is presented. The model allows the user to decompose a large system into separate views, each of which is a complete system in itself. The model further shows how the whole system would behave as viewed from a certain angle. The combined views provide a complete picture of the whole system, distributing the complexity of a large centralized system and thereby making it more manageable. A simple execution scheme is also presented for the model. A high-level state-transaction language called SXL is used so that constructs in the model are expressed as pre- and post-conditions of transactions. All views in the model are able to proceed in a parallel but harmonious fashion because of the execution scheme, thereby yielding a working prototype for the modeled system.

Real-Time System, Prototype, Software Design, Models, Troubleshooting, Dataflow Architecture, Dataflow Languages, and Control Structures

Software technology must meet the increasing demand for high-quality systems. Rapid prototyping insures that software meets user needs, increases reliability and cuts down on costly changes in requirements. In constructing prototypes developers must satisfy and relate to its requirements. The prototype must be easy to modify and have easy-to-read code for documentation and support. A prototype can be spruced up later, programmer time should be used to maximize rapid feedback. Problem decomposition is central, as is an automated support environment. Software should be created in modules to speed later updates. Improved methods of module organization and retrieval should be established and computer-aided modification of the prototype would be more effective to execute user feedback.

Resource Management and Software

This paper discusses resource utilization over the life cycle of software development and discusses the role that the current 'waterfall' model plays in the actual software life cycle. Software production in the NASA environment was analyzed to measure these differences. The data from 13 different projects were collected by the Software Engineering Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and analyzed for similarities and differences. The results indicate that the waterfall model is not very realistic in practice, and that as technology introduces further perturbations to this model with concepts like executable specifications, rapid prototyping, and wide-spectrum languages, we need to modify our model of this process. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Real-Time System, Prototype, Programming Language, ADA, Embedded Systems, Large-Scale Systems, Software Quality, Software Engineering, and Technology

Present software development methods are not sufficient to handle the fast growing demand for larger systems and higher-quality software. Rapid prototyping may be the solution for improved programming productivity and software reliability. PSDL is a system description language for describing prototypes of real-time software systems. PSDL supports rapid prototyping based on abstractions and reusable software components. It is useful for very large real-time systems and for prototyping typical Ada applications. Information is provided on control constraints, computational models, timing constraints, hierarchical constraints, requirements for the hyperthermia system, prototyping methodology and the support environment.

Software Engineering, Cost of Programming, Prototype, Models of Computation, Program Development Techniques, Technology, Comparison, and Performance/Cost Relationship

Five approaches to software engineering are presented to decrease shortfall, lateness and inappropriateness in varying degrees. Alternate models of software development are needed due to escalating software development costs and unacceptable levels of reliability, performance and functionality. Methods employed include prototyping, software synthesis and reusable software. The paradigm presented is useful to help compare and contrast alternative software development life cycle models in relation to user needs and life cycle costs.

Code Generator, Specifications, Algebraic Languages, Methods, Study, Computer Science, Syntax, Semantics, Hierarchical Organization, and Abstract Data Types

We show how the problem of code generation for a simple language can be treated fully algebraically. The algebraic approach enjoys several advantages which should be demonstrated here. First, it allows a uniform specification both of the abstract syntax and of the semantics of the source and the target language on one side and of the code generation on the other side by means of hierarchical abstract data types. Moreover, theorems about the compiler, such as the preservation of the semantics, can be proved by induction on the term structure of the abstract syntax. Furthermore, existing tools for rapid prototyping with abstract data types can be applied to validate the specification against the intention in an early stage. In addition, this paper shows how such a system can also be used for performing induction proofs of conjectures. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher)

Automatic Programming, Event-Driven Systems, Concurrent Programming, Algorithm, and Specifications

An event-based specification language (ESL) is developed for specifying and prototyping executable concurrent programs in the ECSP (extended communicating sequential processes) concurrent extension of the CSP language. ESL is particularly appropriate for describing distributed applications through the 'constructive' definition of an explicit set of allowable behaviors. Certain behavioral conditions are defined as a function of past computational history. Both processes and complex events in the concurrent program are specified by ESL. The ESL specification can be automatically translated into ECSP, and an algorithm is described that effects the process. Details of the ESL language and translation algorithm are described.

New Technique, Relational Languages, Research and Development, Methods, Application Development Software, Cost Benefit Analysis, Applications, System Design, Strategic Planning, ADA, Prototype, and Software Engineering

A relational programming methodology is developed that enables the rapid design and prototyping of complex, evolutionary software applications, even by non-professionals with minimal supervision. Only relational data structures are used for system content and interface, and programming uses relational languages with an emphasis on relational algebra. The method is successfully applied to the development of two large projects: the Ada Relational Translator experimental compiler-interpreter for Ada and the Multi-Micro Line tool set for constructing multi-microprocessor applications. Cited advantages of the relational programming methodology include: avoiding early commitment to designing data structures and algorithms, extensive facilities for extracting data views when unanticipated functions must be added, and program structuring is decoupled from programming group structure.

Prototype, Microcomputer, Software Design, Evaluation, I/O Device, Global Specialties Corp. -- Product information, and Global Specialties PB-88-4 Proto-Board (Computer peripheral)

Global Specialties $299.95 PB-88-4 Proto-Board for the IBM PC is a prototyping system that facilitates the design, construction and debugging of PC interfaces. Documentation is brief and complete, but does not contain any PC-based experiments. The connections of the power cable and 60-pin connector need work. The Proto-Board provides needed flexibility and convenience to the tasks of prototyping and experimenting with microcomputer interfaces.

New Product, Emulators, Application-Specific Integrated Circuit, Quickturn Systems Inc. -- Product introduction, and Quickturn Systems Rapid Prototyping Machine (Computer)

Quickturn Systems' new in-circuit emulation (ICE) for ASICs is the RPM (Rapid Prototype Machine) Emulation System. The system allows an ASIC design to be written into reprogrammable ASICs and then put into a prototype system through an ICE cable. The prototype system can be run then at near real-time speeds to find out how the ASIC design runs in the target system over a longer period of time. It is possible to bring all meaningful signals out to I-O pins for monitoring by spreading the ASIC design across a number of reprogrammable gate arrays. The designs can then be changed into the RPM system in minutes via the reprogrammable devices and the automatic place-and-route software. The basic RPM Emulation Systems costs $125,000.

Decision Support Software, Executive, Information Systems, Requirements Analysis, Strategic Planning, Implementation, Study, Egypt, and Politics

This paper provides a new approach for managing the design and delivery of information and decision support systems for strategic decision making. It draws on experiences gained from implementing systems and services for enhancing the strategic decision-making process of the the Cabinet of Egypt. The article challenges the conventional views of conceptualizing decision support systems and methods for managing them. It introduces an 'issue-based' management method for the design and delivery processes. The distinctive features of this approach include a focus on issues rather than decisions, a distinction between information support services and decision support services, prototyping the management of delivery as well as design, and dynamic tracking back-end. Finally, the article compares the conventional and issue-based DSS approaches. Such a comparison suggests that the issue-based approach can be an effective stepping stone for the design and delivery of executive information systems (EIS) in corporate contexts by providing DSS that are 'EIS-ready.' (Reprinted with permission of the publisher)

Man-machine systems, human factors, underseas systems, prototyping, system analysis, guidance systems, Electronic computers. Computer science, and QA75.5-76.95

Important man-machine interface (MMI) issues concerning a submarine command and weapon control system (CWCS) such as crew organization, automation level and decision support are discussed in this paper. Generic submarine CWCS functions and operating conditions are outlined. Detailed, dynamic and real-time prototypes were used to support the MMI design. The prototypes are described and experience with detailed prototyping is discussed. Some of the main interaction principles are summarized and a restricted example of the resulting design is given. Our design experience and current work have been used to outline future perspectives of MMI design in naval CWCSs. The need for both formal and experimental approaches is emphasized.

Prototype, Cornell University, Research and Development, Models, Design, Manufacturing, Solids Modeling, Algorithm, and Cornell University -- Research

Electronic prototyping, or building a computer model of an object to verify its design, is replacing physical prototyping. Nonetheless, obstacles exist that impede the progress of electronic prototyping. One obstacle is a need for robust geometrical algorithms in computer-aided design systems. Existing algorithms can fail if their correctness depends on the logical consistency of the underlying structures. Research at Cornell University results in a paradigm expected to have wide applicability for producing provably correct programs for various engineering applications. The paradigm has been used to develop a provably correct intersection algorithm. The algorithm is several orders of magnitude more robust than existing codes. The Cornell project also dealt with electronic prototyping that permits designers to experiment with a number of configurations before committing to one design.

Software Engineering, Human Factors, Management, Program Development Techniques, Software Design, Scheduling, and Organization Structure

Software development depends greatly on proper management for its ultimate success. Software design is changed from a linear to an iterative process through use of human factors. Time must be allocated for prototyping, user tests, design reviews and design modifications. The change from linear to iterative also changes the definition of organizational roles by having different teams work on different aspects of the system simultaneously rather than in isolation. The power structure of the organization is changed as well by requiring that multidisciplinary teams share work: boundaries between departments disappear and responsibility for the product at any given stage of the design process is shared by all members of the team. Also discussed are the effects of an iterative approach on project management, communication, resources, personnel organization, and management commitment.

Prototype, Software Engineering, Methods, Integrated Approach, Software Design, Utilization, and Comparison

Computer-aided rapid software prototyping is a highly efficient method for the rapid development of low-maintenance software. The technology is based on a process model that focuses on requirements specification, design, validation, evaluation and tradeoffs between the related software and hardware systems. Rapid prototyping provides evolutionary development of software through the use of an integrated design environment. The output of the process is a working software system model that may be used as a functional or behavioral specification for the final product, a feasibility study for a more complex system or validation of the requirements of the target software system. Advantages of rapid prototyping include greater use of abstraction earlier in the software development process, lower cost of software maintenance and easier integration into the entire hardware/software system.

Prototype, Software Maintenance, Methods, Computer-Aided Software Engineering, Software Design, Object-Oriented Data Bases, Programming Language, and System Design

The process and advantages of employing rapid prototyping for software evolution are illustrated by use of the object-oriented Computer-Aided Prototyping System (CAPS) and its Prototype System Description Language (PSDL). Software is evolved to improve performance, address changing requirements and eliminate bugs. Typically, software evolution accounts for over half the costs of a software system. Rapidly constructing and analyzing prototypes of aspects of or entire software systems can reduce software evolution costs. CAPS consists of three major components: user interface, data base of reusable software components and a software execution support system. These constitute an integrated set of computer-aided software engineering tools that can be used to build and modify prototype systems, assemble code from the data base, generate production code and manage the entire process. PSDL provides a high-level language description of prototype systems, unified conceptual framework and an integrating facility for the tools. Details of the design and functioning of CAPS and PSDL are discussed.

Very-Large-Scale Integration, Computer-Aided Design, Software Engineering, Methods, Object-Oriented Data Bases, Utilization, Iteration, Requirements Analysis, Specifications, Ontologic Inc. -- Product information, and Vbase (Data base management system) -- Usage

The development of the Cbase computer-aided design (CAD) framework for very-large-scale integration (VLSI) circuit design at the University of Southern California demonstrates the value of a rapid prototyping strategy based on an object-oriented data base management system (OODBMS). A major problem in the development of large software systems is specifying and analyzing the potential users' requirements. The software engineer needs tools that enable the evolution of the system design in a manner that can accommodate incomplete initial requirements specifications as well as changing requirements. Rapid prototyping tools enable interactive development, refinement and analysis of multiple software system prototypes. An OODBMS facilitates the process by providing reusable code modules, powerful modeling capabilities and generic programming. Ontologic's commercial Vbase OODBMS package and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology X11 toolkit were employed to develop Cbase.

Software Engineering, New Technique, Case Study, Methods, Utilization, System Design, Prototype, Resource Allocation, Artificial Intelligence, State-of-the-Art, and Mitre Corp. Artificial Intelligence Technical Center -- Research

The Artificial Intelligence Center of Mitre Corp (McLean, VA) developed software storming as an experimental method for prototyping software systems more rapidly and with greater functionality than with other prototyping methods. Software storming is an intense four-week initial prototype software design and implementation effort (plus follow-on phase) that utilizes domain experts and knowledge engineers plus state-of-the-art software development tools and hardware. The four weeks consist of problem definition, action plan development, brainstorming during knowledge engineering and analysis and review. The follow-on phase consists of revision and refinement of the software system. The major differences from other prototyping methods are use of experts to work with knowledge engineers to incorporate appropriate knowledge into a software system and evaluate it and the videotaping of the storming process to improve technique. Software storming was applied to the design of a software system for optimizing placement of equipment in the US Army Mobile Subscriber Equipment System.

Software Engineering, Prototype, Performance Improvement, New Technique, Methods, GUI, Productivity, and Apple Macintosh (680X0-based system) -- Usage

The Oregon Speedcode Universe (OSU) is a programming system for more rapidly prototyping applications on the Macintosh computer through an object-oriented graphical 'showing' process and without the use of programming languages. Showing how an application can be developed and work through the manipulation and sequencing of on-screen interface objects and their interactions and the use of programming generation tools can improve programmer productivity up to ten times. The OSU process consists of developing a 'vacuous' prototype based on the standard Macintosh user interface and adding functionality to that prototype through the use of domain-dependent software development accelerators. The OSU software consists of three tools: the resource designer, graphical sequencer and program generator. Details of the design and functioning of OSU are discussed.

Prototype, Methods, Aerospace Engineering, Research and Development, Flight Control Systems, System Development, Strategic Planning, Software Engineering, United States. Dryden Research Center, Simulation, Flight Simulator, and United States. Dryden Flight Research Center -- Research

The Dryden Flight Research Facility of the NASA Ames Research Center (Edwards, CA) has developed and is enhancing a rapid prototyping facility (RPF) for developing and testing advanced avionics systems. Specifically, the system is designed to perform flight research on avionics employing conventional techniques and/or knowledge-based systems (KBSs) for control. RPF is an extension of the agency's remotely augmented vehicle (RAV) facility, which tests a variety of control algorithms on research aircraft without the need for expensive ongoing avionics modifications. RAV consists of a research aircraft, ground-based auxiliary computational facility and simulator for flight systems development and validation. The enhanced RPF will enable flight-test planning and the real-time simulation of flight performance. Details of the system are discussed.

Prototype, System Design, System Development, Methods, New Technique, Integrated Approach, and Network Diagnostic/Test Equipment

The Programmable Network Prototyping System (PNPS) was developed to provide cost-effective prototyping and behavior analysis of communication networks. PNPS consists of reusable hardware modules, host hardware for control and observation and several software tools. The hardware modules enable the simulation of a variety of network configurations through the implementation of such generic communications functions as transmission and reception, pattern matching and signal propagation. Individual hardware modules consist of a channel emulator and node emulators. Node emulators consist of a network controller and either host emulator or Integrated Services Digital Network workstation. Configuration of the components and their functions are controlled by such software tools as the CE specification language, two high-level languages, user interface, design evaluation tools and the system software language. The PNPS provides a three-phase network design and evaluation process consisting of specification, experiment and analysis.

Outlook, Software Validation, Software Quality, Software Engineering, Quality Control, Error Trapping, Research and Development, and Program Development Techniques

Better software verification and validation (V&V) tools will be needed as engineers strive to improve software productivity and quality. Changes in seven basic categories will drive the development of tomorrow's V&V technology. An aging software base will need reverse-engineering and updating to remain useful. Greater consumer awareness will cause developers to pay more attention to product-liability and consumer-protection factors. Complex applications will require the incorporation of V&V early in the product cycle. High-risk applications will require more extensive, redundant and complementary V&V activities. The reuse of documentation, designs, code, test plans and test results will reduce some V&V activities, but new techniques will be needed to ascertain the adequacy of the initial V&V effort. V&V activities will have to account for prototyping. Increased productivity among software developers will require the streamlining of V&V activities.

Evaluation, Object-Oriented Languages, C Programming Language, Application Development Software, Whitewater Group Inc. -- Product information, Digitalk Inc. -- Product information, Stepstone Inc. -- Product information, ParcPlace-Digitalk Smalltalk/V (Application development software) -- Evaluation, Actor (Application development software) -- Evaluation, and Objective-C (Compiler) -- Evaluation

Digitalk Inc's Smalltalk-V 2.0, Whitewater Group Inc's Actor 1.2 and Stepstone Inc's Objective-C are all good object-oriented programming environments. The MS-DOS version of Smalltalk-V needs at least 512Kbytes of RAM and two disk drives and costs $99.95. The Macintosh version requires 1Mbyte of RAM and a hard disk. Both the Macintosh and OS-2 versions cost $199.95. Actor 1.2 is a programming environment for the Actor language. It can run on any system that can run Microsoft Windows-286 or Windows-386, versions 2.1 or later, and it costs $495. Objective-C is a language extension to C that runs on 80286-based microcomputers and costs $495. Smalltalk-V's low price and ease of use make it an excellent prototyping system. Actor's greatest strength is its ability to rapidly build applications that run under the Microsoft Windows environment. Objective-C is a good system for those experienced with C programming language but who do not yet want the complexity of C++.

System Development, Icons, User Interface, Compiler/decompiler, Operating Environments, Research and Development, System Design, and Visualization

A visual language compiler, the SIL-ICON Compiler, is developed which enables the specification, interpretation, prototyping and generation of icon-oriented software systems. The compiler consists of: Icon System G, icon dictionary, operator dictionary, extended task action grammar, and icon interpreter. Icon System G enables the formal, syntactic specification of an icon system through a generalized language of icons. The icon interpreter is the heart of the compiler system, using the other component specifications to generate icon-oriented user interfaces. An extended example of how the icon interpreter works is described. Each of the other major SIL-ICON Compiler components are described. The compiler is written in C and runs on a Sun workstation.

Object-Oriented Languages, Trends, System Development, Application Development Software, Methods, Requirements Analysis, Utilization, and Software Engineering

Development of object-oriented (OO) applications programming is just beginning to reach a stage where programmer and customer education, training, OO programming software (OOPS) and programming management tools, and formal methodologies can be integrated into a complete OO development process. It is clear that OO development can not be performed using traditional programming language tools, the alternative being such OO languages as Smalltalk and C++. A variety of OO analysis and design (OOAD) methodologies are just emerging, including those proposed by G Booch, R Buhr, J Rombaugh and I Jacobson. Each of these is briefly described. Simulation, including rapid prototyping, seems to be the favored OO methodology of many software engineers. Other issues addressed include CASE tools, OOPS metrics, and code size estimation.

Application Development Software, Software Packages, Prototype, Borland International Inc. -- Product information, Top Gun Systems -- Product information, Sophisticated Software Inc. -- Product information, Nostradamus Inc. -- Product information, CompuServe Inc. -- Product information, and Borland Turbo Pascal (Application development software)

Software packages that can be helpful for rapid prototyping with Borland International's Turbo Pascal are discussed. These include DataBoss from Top Gun Systems, which generates working Turbo Pascal code from screen hierarchies created by the programmer; turboMAGIC from Sophisticated Software, which generates sophisticated code for user interfaces but lacks a database-generation facility; Turbo Plus from Nostradamus Inc, which is a programmer's toolkit rather than a code generator. CompuServe's CLMFORUM features discussions by several software engineering experts, and is expected to offer an on-line class in structured methods.

Conferences, Circuit Design, Application-Specific Integrated Circuit, Gate Arrays, Chip Packaging, CMOS, Custom Integrated Circuits Conference, NEC Electronics Inc. -- Product information, Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc. -- Product information, and Custom Integrated Circuits Conference -- 1989 AD

New application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) products announced at the 1989 CICC feature higher speeds and densities as the result of incremental process steps which have shrunk them to less than 1 micron. The new capabilities will give the next generation of semicustom gate arrays twice the speed and density of present circuits. This advanced technology is expected to come at a cost premium of around 50 percent until 1991, when next-generation products will become commercially available. Several vendors are also upgrading and expanding their digital complementary metal oxide semiconductor array lines. NEC is prototyping a 42,000- to 177,000-gate CMOS family, while Toshiba America Inc and Siemens AG have announced the availability of a 1-micron process. The new technologies may lead to pocket-size microcomputers and desktop supercomputers in the next few years.

Prototype, Programming Language, Software Engineering, and Expert Systems

Rapid prototyping languages are being developed to reduce the cost of software development. A software prototype is an executable initial version of a proposed system. Prototypes are built to assess the usefulness and performance of a proposed system, and as such, they must be built economically and quickly. Th goals of a rapid prototyping language are: to rapidly construct and adapt software; to enable development of more powerful systems; to validate that proposed systems are acceptable to users; to check the internal consistency of proposed designs; to ensure the correctness of transformations; and to verify that implementations fully conform to specifications. The design of a rapid prototyping language discussed, with special attention paid to issues involving expert system prototyping.

Knowledge-Based System, Software Engineering, Education, Universities and Colleges, Cooperation, and Companies

While most companies consider expert system investment a risky venture, they are anxious to exploit the technology. Universities can play an important role in the development of expert systems by participating in joint projects with industry, while simultaneously providing students with a valuable educational experience. Most universities are not equipped for large projects, but they con contribute significantly by assisting with problem analysis, system design, tool and technique demonstration and exploratory prototyping for feasibility studies during front end knowledge-engineering phases. The three-year creation of a university-based laboratory for expert systems is discussed.

Mechanical Engineering, Computer-Aided Engineering, Trends, Utilization, Impact Analysis, Outlook, Products, and Computer Software Industry

Mechanical computer-aided engineering (MCAE) has not enjoyed the same degree of success as electronic CAE systems because of a lack of commonality of needs among potential users, complexity of the systems, the need for powerful workstations for adequate performance, and the high cost of developing applications. The technology still offers the promise of improved designs and better engineering productivity, and MCAE vendors are still selling and developing their products. The major categories of MCAE products are solid modeling and prototyping systems, parametric design systems, expert systems shells, and interactive what-if design systems. Example products and companies marketing each type of MCAE system are noted. A 'killer application' may be required to develop significant interest among mechanical engineers.

Transmission Lines, Simulation of Computer Systems, Circuit Design, Application-Specific Integrated Circuit, Testing, and Methods

Analog and logic simulators are inefficient for avoiding layout problems and assuring signal integrity in today's high-speed gallium-arsenide, CMOS, and TTL circuit technologies. Analog simulators are too slow to make simulating an entire printed circuit board practical and require time-consuming translation of board entities into capacitance, resistance and inductance models. Logic simulators are only capable of verifying logical behavior. Transmission-line simulation, a relatively new technology, uses tools that extract the required data from a circuit board and analyze it to detect and eliminate signal degradation problems. The advantages of transmission-line simulation include the ability to correct design problems before prototyping, less restriction on placement and routing of critical signals, support for different packaging technologies, and total system-level analysis.

Human Factors, Research and Development, Prototype, Product Development, Testing, Software Design, User Interface, Modeling, and AT&T Bell Laboratories Inc. -- Research

Human factors contributions to the design of user interfaces are likely to have the greatest impact at early design stages. Rapid prototyping therefore provides an important vehicle for incorporating quality and usability from the outset. Through realistic experience and interaction with the proposed user interface, users and user-interface designers can work together to detect and correct problems before a major development investment is made. The prototyping approach is especially powerful because it provides the opportunity for (1) early user feedback and performance data, (2) efficient, focused communication with users and developers, and (3) iterative design and test. In this paper we illustrate the prototyping and evaluating process with three examples of AT&T products and services. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Government Agency, Research and Development, Application-Specific Integrated Circuit, and Germany

Stuttgart Institute for Microelectronics (IMS, West Germany) is a highly successful non-profit foundation which assists small and medium-sized firms in the collaborative design, test, prototyping, and small-scale production of application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs); supports cooperative research at regional to international levels, and furthers the education of scientific and technical personnel. IMS was founded by the State of Baden-Wuerttemberg and the Federal Republic of Germany and includes over 100 member firms in its Association of Industrial Affiliates. Example projects include a program to reduce time and cost for developing and testing ASICs and development of the CMOS GATE FOREST technology. IMS also participates in the automotive and traffic microelectronics project of the European Community's Eureka research effort.

Office Automation, DBMS, System Development, and Information Systems

The TODOS Project (Automatic Tools for Designing Office Information Systems) for designing Office Information Systems (OIS) has four phases: requirements collection and analysis, conceptual modeling, rapid prototyping and architecture selection. Each phase has a support tool in the environment. C-TODOS (Conceptual TODOS) is the tool to support the production of OIS functional specifications through conceptual modeling, the design of procedural office activities. The basic features of C-TODOS are the TODOS conceptual model, the specification database, and the modeling, query, and consistency checking modules. Office procedures and information systems (IS) have several features in common, but OIS design must also consider the roles of the office workers and communication patterns. Most OIS design combines already available software packages, rather than developing neew packages from scratch. Using C-TODOS provides the designer with tools to support conceptual modeling activities to obtain correct, consistent, and good quality office-functional specifications.

Application-Specific Integrated Circuit, Timing, Critical Path Method, Methods, Circuit Design, Comparison, New Technique, Testing, Simulation, and Program Logic

Static timing analysis and dynamic timing analysis are two important approaches to ensuring that timing problems in application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) are caught before production. Timing delays in ASICs tend to track, resulting in products that are all fast or slow. Unfortunately, the target board must match the ASIC, or major problems may result in prototyping and in production yield. Consequently, computer-aided design (CAD) tools are employing timing analysis to verify ASIC. Dynamic timing analysis uses minimum and maximum propagation delays to apply and evaluate test vectors for each component. Static timing analysis, particularly using critical path analysis, provides superior delay analysis through the comparison of propagation delays on circuit paths. The functions of the two timing analysis methods are compared.

Product Introduction, Application Development Software, KASEWORKS Inc. -- Product introduction, CASE:PM (Program development software) -- Product introduction, and OS/2 Presentation Manager (GUI)

CASE: PM CASEWORKS Inc. has released CASE:PM v. 1.0, a prototyping and maintenance tool for OS/2 Presentation Manager applications. The $995 tool generates the Presentation Manager portion of any application [...]

Evaluation, Prototype, Microcomputer, Application Development Software, Genesis Data Systems (Albuquerque, New Mexico) -- Product information, and Protofinish (Program development software)

Genesis Data Systems' ProtoFinish is a prototyping tool for the microcomputer that is easy to install and use; it has direct support for Turbo Pascal, Clipper, BASIC and C and has a notable method for creating music to enliven presentations. The program has three development modules: a screen builder, a music maker and an assemble module. It also has a run-time execution module. ProtoFinish is equipped with a terminate-and-stay-resident program called Snapim that captures screens from other programs and saves them to disk for future use. Another notable element is the set of programmer's tools written in assembly language that allows the incorporation of ProtoFinish screens and music in Clipper, BASIC, C or Turbo Pascal programs.

Application-Specific Integrated Circuit, System Design, Price, Gate Arrays, Laser, Semiconductor Industry, Directories, and Semicustom Integrated Circuits

ASICs are becoming frequently used components in system design. There are distinct families of ASICs offered with variously sized gate counts to most cost-efficiently serve different applications. Cost per chip drops down to a few dollars when purchased in quantities of 5,000 or more. Vendors decrease time-to-market with direct-write lasers and E beams which etch connections between each trace in semicustom chips. Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) offer another alternative; they eliminate the three to eight week prototyping delays which can occur with traditional gate arrays. These two technologies provide the best semicustom routes for applications using less than 500 pieces. When performance is crucial bipolar arrays can be used. There is a large selection of channeless CMOS arrays for designers looking for a high degree of integration.

Modeling, Simulation, Prototype, Applications Programming, Object-Oriented Programming, Case Study, Application Development Software, Research and Development, and ParcPlace-Digitalk Smalltalk/V (Application development software) -- Usage

Tiny Tim (toolboxes for interactive modeling) is a Smalltalk object-oriented Programming (OOP) language-based collection of toolboxes that facilitates the description, development and programming of complex graphic models and their animation. Tim is part of the Modeller's Workbench, which provides a OOP framework for system simulation and prototyping. Other components of the workbench include the Pose queueing network simulator; Esop, which provides 'expert device during model construction and execution;' and an expert system shell, Stress, which is used in the Tim environment. Smalltalk's OOP metaphor, desktop programming environment, and collections of predefined classes for rapid prototyping of interactive graphical applications is demonstrated through the use of a Tim toolbox for creating a Monte Carlo model for analyzing the 'effectiveness of a batch of lovepotion.'

Contracts, Gate Arrays, Manufacturers, Manufacturing, Foundries, Marketing Agreements, Actel Corp. -- Contracts, and Matsushita Electronics Corp. -- Contracts

Actel (Sunnyvale, CA) has forged a five-year agreement giving Japanese semiconductor vendor Matsushita Electronics the right to make, package and market Actel's Act 1 family of field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) in Japan. The deal with Matsushita is non-exclusive and gives Actel another second foundry source for its FPGAs plus access to the Japanese firm's 0.8-micron CMOS process. The first foundry agreement was with Texas Instruments (Dallas, TX) in 1988. FPGAs cost up to 10 times as much as mask-programmed gate arrays, but the far shorter turnaround times of FPGAs are useful for prototyping when rapid time-to-market is vital. About half of Actel's FPGAs are used for preproduction applications.

Computer-Aided Design, Manufacturing, Product Life Cycle, Very-Large-Scale Integration, Optimization, Performance Improvement, and Circuit Design

The goals of computer-aided design (CAD) for manufacturability as applied to very-large-scale integration (VLSI) circuit design are to optimize the design along with its manufacturing process in a recursive manner to maximize product yield. Manufacturability of a chip, particularly in terms of product yield, can have a large impact on manufacturing profit. The chip development cycle typically consists of four major stages: planning, design, prototyping and manufacturing. Each of these stages is discussed. Two classes of uncertainty that affect manufacturability are modeling inefficiencies and process disturbances. Specific problems include global disturbances, process design mis-centering, design over sensitivity and process-design mismatches. CAD tools to optimize IC manufacturability should provide process simulation, circuit simulation and yield and performance predictors.

Research and Development, C Programming Language, Debugging/testing software, Prototype, and American Telephone and Telegraph Co. -- Research

We have developed an interactive C programming environment (cens) with integrated facilities to create, edit, browse, execute, and debug C programs. At the heart of cens is a C source-code interpreter, cin, that implements correct and complete C semantics; enables rapid prototyping; performs extensive error checks; facilitates incremental update; manages multiple software views; and provides a programmable command language. In this article, we discuss how a medium-sized software project, the switched access remote test system (SARTS), has benefited from using cin for debugging, software manufacturing, and rapid prototyping. Using SARTS as a case study, we also describe how the interactive environment catches errors and allows corrections 'on the fly,' thereby shortening the debug cycle by a factor of 500 percent. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Evaluation, Software Packages, Application Development Software, Digital Communications Associates Inc. -- Product information, Blue Sky Software Corp. -- Product information, Whitewater Group Inc. -- Product information, NuMega Technologies Inc. -- Product information, Popkin Software and Systems Inc. -- Product information, KASEWORKS Inc. -- Product information, Eikon Systems Inc. -- Product information, Intersoft Inc. -- Product information, Meta Software Corp. -- Product information, Xian Corp. -- Product information, Softbridge Inc. -- Product information, Easyspec Inc. -- Product information, Graphic Software Systems Inc. -- Product information, Microsoft Windows (Computer program) -- Evaluation, and Crosstalk for Windows (Program development software) -- Evaluation

Eighteen software packages that provide program development tools for Windows programmers are evaluated. The tools cover a number of areas, including communications, computer-aided software engineering, prototyping and debugging. Two packages stand out among the thirteen as must-have items for Windows programmers. The Whitewater Resource Toolkit features total resource management and works well with almost every other package reviewed, while the Bridge Toolkit provides exceptional batch language productivity.

Vision, Object Recognition, Navigation, Prototype, and System Design

The design of a vision system for an autonomous land vehicle (ALV) is detailed, with a focus on the road-following task. The ALV vision system constructs a scene model of its environment using information obtained from cameras mounted on the ALV. The model for the road-following task contains either objects that represent the road or objects from which the road's location may be deduced.

Product Introduction, Semiconductor Production Equipment, Prototype, Ateq Corp. -- Product introduction, and Ateq WaferWriter-6000 (Semiconductor production equipment) -- Product introduction

Ateq Corp's new direct-write laser technology eliminates the production of photolithographic masks in the manufacture of submicron application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). The Waferwrite-6000, which offers significant cost and time-to-market advantages over traditions integrated circuit (IC) fabrication methodologies, provides fast turnaround IC prototyping and small-scale chip production. The Ateq system uses a scanning laser to etch semiconductor chips, passing by the prototyping stage and providing users with a fast, cost-effective way to generate ASICs in volumes running under 7,000 parts.

Prototype, Circuit Design, Requirements Analysis, Trends, Product Development, Application-Specific Integrated Circuit, Products, and Boards/Cards

Prototyping remains a viable tool for some board and chip designs. Several vendors provide tools to perform fast, low-cost and accurate prototyping. Many board designers use simulation because they want to get as close to the final design as possible, boards have become more complex, chip and board performance have increased, desired turnaround times have declined, and it is difficult to construct and time wire-wrapped board prototypes. It has also become necessary to simulate chips such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), especially as they relate to the host board. Prototyping is useful when the designer does not control the specifications, when input/output supports varied peripherals, and designs are not easily simulated. Programmable logic devices and field-programmable gate arrays are useful for prototyping ASICs. Board prototyping products are also discussed.

Prototype, Circuit Design, Gate Arrays, Application-Specific Integrated Circuit, Integrated Systems, Semiconductor Production Equipment, Quickturn Systems Inc. -- Product information, and Quickturn Systems RPM Emulation System (Circuit designer) -- Usage

Commercially available field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are the only viable technology for prototyping application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), but it is still a long process. FPGA prototyping enables users to access internal chip nodes, to see how well a custom or semi-custom design meets initial specifications and to make changes during debugging prior to implementation in silicon. A large ASIC may not fit into a single FPGA, requiring the design to be partitioned to fit into multiple FPGAs, with connections between chips identified, the design mapped from netlists to a suitable input language, the FPGAs placed and routed, any timing errors corrected, and the devices connected and programmed. Quickturn Systems offers an electronic prototyping tool, the RPM Emulation System, which automates the process of prototyping with FPGAs.

Semiconductor Production Equipment, Product Introduction, Specifications, Laser, Ateq Corp. -- Product introduction, and Ateq WaferWriter-6000 (Semiconductor production equipment) -- Product introduction

Ateq (Beaverton, OR) introduces the $2.5 million Waferwriter-6000 direct-write scanned laser lithography system for photolithographic mask production and maskless integrated circuit (IC) prototyping on wafers up to 8-inches in diameter. The Waferwriter-6000 can produce feature sizes as small as 0.5-microns at a writing speed of 194 square mm/minute. Features include a menu-driven interface, a 363.8nm wavelength Argon ion laser source, a 20x post-scan lens for minimizing placement errors and improving throughput, a 675Mbyte-plus pattern data disk capacity, automatic wafer-handling subsystem and automatic alignment subsystem for generating IC prototypes. The system can accept IC pattern data in the MEBES, MEBES I/II, MEBES Reticle mode, MEBES Extended Address, MEBES Compacted Format, and Varian ALF formats.

New Product, Neural Network, Software Packages, MS-DOS, Educational Software, Neural Ware Inc. -- Product information, and NeuralWorks Explorer (Simulation software) -- Design and construction

NeuralWorks Explorer, $299 from NeuralWare, is training and development software that introduces neural computing technology and techniques. Networks can be saved and re-displayed. Online help is supplied by the software. NeuralWorks Explorer has prototyping facilities that permit users to develop small applications. Programs can be written in C to perform specialized I/O functions, graphic displays and analysis. Users can use advanced features to add or edit layers, add or delete processing elements from layers, edit processing elements, create patterns of connections, and connect layers or processing elements. The documentation, which is over 500 pages, includes an introduction to neural networks, a user's guide, tutorials, and an index. NeuralWorks Explorer requires an IBM PC XT, AT, PS-2 or compatible processor, 3 megabytes of free hard-disk space, 1 5.25-inch floppy drive, an MS-DOS 3.x PC-DOS 2.x or compatible operating system, and a 512Kbyte memory, although 640Kbytes is recommended. There is an optional math coprocessor.

Simulation, Modeling, Circuit Design, New Technique, and Tutorial

Moving to board-level simulation allows designers to detect and correct more errors in the software stage, obviating the need for many expensive hardware prototyping stages. Device model selection is critical to successful implementation of board-level simulation. Software models include full-functional models that completely imitate the behavior of the device, and bus functional models, a subset of full-functional models that model processor bus cycles. Hardware modelers, specialized computer-testers that interface to a simulator, are used in the absence of an appropriate software model. A new approach, referred to as soft silicon, involves the cooperation of a manufacturer, having established the correct functional specifications of a device, with a model vendor to create a software model before the device is committed to silicon.

Embedded Systems, Research and Development, GUI, Texas A and M University, Lockheed Corp. -- Research, and Texas A&M University -- Research

The Laboratory for Software Research at Texas A&M and the Lockheed Software Technology Center in Austin are working to develop an environment to create user interfaces for embedded systems. The system is called the Graphical Specification System (GSS). Two parts combine to make up GSS: a wide-spectrum graphical specification language and a rapid prototyping capability. A complete specification for a user interface includes graphical display, how the user and computer interact, and how the user-interface software interacts with the application software. GSS has specification forms for user-interface tools and hooks in the graphical specification to permit lower level textual specifications. GSS also has an executive component that is an endless loop that recognizes user actions and informs the appropriate object(s) of these actions, that recognizes incoming application data and sends it through the appropriate back-end dataflow path, and performs any remaining executive functions.

Application-Specific Integrated Circuit, Service Centers, Circuit Design, Gate Arrays, Manufacturing, Semiconductor Industry, and Prototype

Chip Express of Santa Clara, CA, promises ASIC designers an over 50 percent cut in turnaround time through its gate array prototyping and production service. The company claims it can produce ASIC prototypes in as little as one day. They can also deliver low to medium volume production quantities in one or two weeks. Chip Express uses a micro-machining Quick System to produce a typical double-metal gate array of 12,000 gates in less than an hour; the results are identical to the finished product. The company's Quick Full Service costs up to $20,000 for a 15,000-gate ASIC. The Onemask production process is geared toward smaller quantities of 10 to 1,000 parts.

Prototype, Information Storage and Retrieval, Performance Measurement, and Database Design

Prototyping of an information system is valuable because it can predict problems and end-user satisfaction with a system early in the development process. Scaling up is the process of inference from prototype to full-scale information system to report information to the end user. The factors that determine whether or not reported information is useful are how much information is reported, how aesthetically appealing the reporting is, the proportion of relevant or useful data reported, and how much of the reported data is useful or relevant. There are three sources of events that produce output of information for the end user: passage of a time interval; an internal or external event occurs; the end user requests information. The three problem areas which often receive inadequate attention by the database designer are the potential for end-user information overload; the adequacy of retrieval performance; and the ability of output hardware and employees to handle retrieval record volumes.

Computer-Aided Design, Mechanical Engineering, and Manufacturing

Mechanical computer-aided engineering (MCAE) systems help companies get products to market more quickly and permit engineering to try more concepts and alternatives and debug products. MCAE usually reduces the time for the design cycle by weeks or months. MCAE helps by forging modeling and analysis, eliminating prototyping experimentation, handling engineering changes, handling increasing product sophistication, avoiding delays, leveraging engineering resources, keeping pace with electronic design, speeding communications and understanding, and making the transition to product smoother.