WonderWare™ Computer-Aided Software Production System (CASP)

WonderWare is a proprietary application software production system which we developed. We did not offer WonderWare for sale or license. Instead, we used WonderWare to produce low-cost, defect-free systems virtually overnight.

WonderWare supported the development of multi-user, on-line, interactive business systems on computers made by Digital (VAX), Bull (DPS), Wang (VS), and Concurrent (32xx).

WonderWare evolved into OpenTechnology™ with which we developed OpenMETRIC™, OpenPROTRAK™, OpenEMBARC™, and our other OpenSystems products.

OpenTechnology currently runs on over 700 different platforms.

WonderWare is a rich collection of rules and tools, developed and refined for over 25 years, which substantially automates the application production process.

WonderWare isolates the application software from the vendor-unique characteristics of operating systems, screen handling systems, and file management systems.

Custom programming has historically been plagued with embarrassing schedule slippages, damaging budget overruns, and bugs that vary from irritating to disastrous. Many software developers have systematically withdrawn from custom programming, because of their inability to predict and manage such projects successfully and profitably.

We experienced many of the same frustrations on projects during the 70's. We evaluated the causes of these difficulties and examined possible solutions and alternatives.

We analyzed the software development process and identified the essential "manufacturing" characteristics of the process. We then began the process of "automating" this manufacturing process. The result of this automation is collectively called WonderWare.

The productivity gains achieved by WonderWare were "too good to be true." During the actual code generation phase of the production process, a programmer with moderate experience creates up to 25,000 lines of code per day! After the QC, documentation, packaging, and shipping are completed, WonderWare projects averaged over 7500 lines of defect-free and documented code per programmer day.

Building upon the structured analysis and structured design concepts popularized by Yourdon, WonderWare produces software which adheres to the highest standards for:

       READABILITY             COUPLING                  DELAYED BINDING

       MODULARITY              COHESION                  MORPHOLOGY

       MAINTAINABILITY         TRANSPORTABILITY          SIMPLICITY

WonderWare addresses all the aspects of the on-line application production process, including the following:

 

SECURITY:	WonderWare provides access security to each application function.
DESIGN:	WonderWare provides a standardized architecture for the structured design of "physical" systems. WonderWare thread charts provide simple, understandable, and maintainable definitions of program flow, control, and interaction.
REPORTS:	WonderWare simplifies the definition and code generation of reports.
MENUS:	WonderWare simplifies and automates the definition and code generation for menus.
SCREENS:	WonderWare simplifies and automates the definition and code generation for screen handling.
FILES:	WonderWare simplifies and automates the definition and code generation for file handling.
SKELETONS:	WonderWare provides a standardized, reusable set of programs or "skeletons" to perform each function required in an application.
THREADS:	WonderWare provides a standardized architecture for program flow, control, and interaction.
SUBROUTINES:	WonderWare provides a rich set of callable subroutines.
DOCUMENTATION:	WonderWare automatically generates the technical documentation needed to perform timely and accurate maintenance of WonderWare applications.
TRAINING:	WonderWare drastically reduces the training required for a programmer to produce systems of the highest quality.
"Power Tools"	WonderWare supports our proprietary WonderWare "Power Tools".