VSF and its relationship to open systems and standard repositories

Abstract

In an environment of continually evolving technology the need for automated development environments to be “open” is increasingly significant. This need imposes requirements both on the architecture of such an environment and on the individual tools which it will comprise. The Virtual Software Factory (VSF) is a meta-CASE tool-set, enabling the rapid development and evolution of commercial quality CASE tools. The facilities provided by the tool-set are designed to enhance the applicability of VSF solutions for Open Systems environment. VSF-based tools can be configured to interface with any of the emergent standard Repository systems, and with other complementary tools without significant impact on the tools themselves; individual tools may support multiple external meta-models, and multiple inter-tool communication environments. In this paper we discuss the nature of the requirement for an Open System approach to CASE tools, and the relative roles of standard Repositories and specialist “point” tools in such an environment. The structure of a VSF-based CASE tool for an Open Systems environment is outlined in order to demonstrate how the VSF facilities are used on support of an Open Systems approach.