Software Engineering Chapter: Computer Aided Software Engineering 1 Chapter : Computer Aided Software Engineering

Software EngineeringChapter: Computer Aided Software Engineering

1

Chapter :

Computer Aided Software Engineering


What is CASE Tool? Purpose of CASE

Building Block of CASE

Integrated Approach for CASE Environment Benefits Challenges Architecture

Topic Covered


CASE tools provides the software engineer with the ability to automate manual activities and to improve engineering task.

It can assist to perform various activities such as analysis, design, coding and testing.

With the help of CASE tools development process reduces the amount of effort.

Introduction on CASE


CASE tools are programs that automate or support one or more phases in a SW development life cycle

Purpose: increase the speed of SW development

activities increase the SW productivity improve the quality of the SW developed

Introduction on CASE


CASE tools may exist as a single tools or a collection of multiple tools.

Tool must communicate with various element such as hardware, database, people, network, OS and so on.

In blocks, Environment architecture, composed of the hardware platform and system support (including networking software, database management), lays the ground work for CASE.

Building Block of CASE Tools




A set of portability services provides a bridge between CASE tools + integration framework + environment architecture.

Integration framework : collection of specialized programs that enables individual CASE tools to : communicate with one another create a project data base display the same look and feel to the SW

engineer



CASE tool may exist in variety of manner.

A single CASE tool can be used or a collection of CASE tools may exists which acts as some package.



Real power of CASE can be achieved only through integration

Benefits of integrated CASE (I-CASE) include Smooth transfer of information from one tool

to another and one software engineering step to the next;

Reduction in the effort increase in project control Improve staff coordination

INTEGRATED CASE ENVIRONMENTS


Challenges of I-CASEConsistent representations of SE

informationStandardized interfaces between toolsHomogeneous mechanism for

communication between SW engineer and each tool

An effective approach that will enable I-CASE to move among various HW platforms and OS



Here term integration implies both combination and closure.

To define integration in the context of the software engineering process, it is necessary to establish a set of requirements for I-CASE.



CASE tools create a pool of software engineering information.

I-CASE environment allows a transfer of information into and out of this pool.

To accomplish this, the following architectural components must exist: Database - to store the information. Object management system - to manage changes

to the information Control mechanism - to coordinate the use of CASE

tools. User interface





The user interface layer consists of interface tool kit presentation protocol

Interface tool kit - contains software for human/computer interface management and a library of display objects.

Presentation protocol - set of guidelines that gives all CASE tools the same look and feel.



Tools layer consists a set of Tools Management Services (TMS) with the CASE tool

TMS control the behavior of tools within the environment

TMS performs multitask synchronization and communication between layers.

Object Management Layer (OML) performs the configuration management functions



OMT provides the mechanism for tools integration.

Every CASE tool is "plugged into" the object management layer.

Shared Repository Layer is the CASE database and the access control functions that enable the object management layer to interact with the database.


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Software Engineering Chapter: Computer Aided Software Engineering 1 Chapter : Computer Aided Software Engineering