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Technology has Advanced Ten-Fold, but Programmer Productivity Has Not Kept Pace...
This was the genesis for ResQSoft Engineer, a software development suite of tools
that greatly enhances programmer productivity.
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Programmers write the same programs over and over -- programs that let users input information,
browse, query, etc. In the past, this was accomplished in languages like COBOL, Visual Basic, Clipper,
Visual FoxPro, PowerBuilder, MUMPS, Focus, Mantis, Model 204, and Command Level
CICS - among many others.
Today, the preferred languages are Java, JSP, ASP, HTML, and XML. Fundamentally,
we're still writing
things like the customer maintenance module, the patient maintenance module, the
invoice data entry program... and it still takes about 2 weeks of programmer labor
to get one right.
The bottom line: 15 years ago, it took us 2 weeks to write a major module, and today
it takes the same amount of time. The programs are prettier today and a lot more
complicated -- but
no increase in productivity has occured - until ResQSoft Engineer.
Adaptive Reuse
Regular reuse involves taking a generalized piece of software and using it in more than
one application. Usually, there is some kind of configuration involved; for example,
you might specify that the length of your account numbers is 6 digits. With adaptive
reuse, however, there is a defined way to tailor or modify the reusable software to
meet your exact requirements -- so if you need a 6-digit account number, that's what
the statements in the software "know" to expect.
The ResQSoft Engineer Solution
Engineer is a suite of tools we use to develop these repetitive kinds of programs very
quickly, using adaptive reuse technology and automated source code tailoring and
generation. Engineer also has tools for reverse-engineering legacy code, including
COBOL, VB, PowerBuilder, MUMPS, MAPPER, Silverstream, Forte, Cold Fusion, Mantis, ASP, and Clipper / xBASE /
FoxPro -- and the list keeps growing.
Applications written in these languages, and many others, that present interface
screens and
reports to the user can be re-created in Java/JSP/HTML very quickly. As important,
the Java/JSP/HTML code created by Engineer is free from required vendor libraries
or other "lock-in's" that make code maintenance difficult, if not impossible. Code
created by ResQSoft Engineer can even be edited in a common text editor if desired.
Engineer's reverse-engineering tool is flexible enough to accommodate almost any
type of legacy code. This capability is enabled by parsers on the intake side of
the tool. New parsers can be created in a matter of a few weeks, allowing Engineer
to easily evolve with changing software architectures. On the output side of Engineer,
templates govern the target architecture. Orginally, 25 years ago, Engineer produced
COBOL. Today, Engineer outputs Java/JSP/HTML. Tomorrow, the target architecture
could be anything (.Net is in production for release later this year). Architectures
change, but the kinds of programs used to conduct business stay the same.
Read the FAQ for more information.
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"Less than 10% of the code has to do with the ostensible purpose of the system;
the rest deals with input-output, data validation, data structure maintenance,
and other housekeeping."
-Mary Shaw
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