Return to Home

DSI Works Overview

DSI Works is an integrated CASE (Computer Aided Software Engineering) system. It is a toolkit that provides support for the development and maintenance of large business software applications. It provides design tools similar to current 4GLs while providing run time performance typically better than traditional 3GL systems.

DSI Works is composed of the following components:

Area Maintenance

The Area Maintenance provides a consistent method to assign and deassign logicals and symbols to "areas" such as test and production that prevents a logical in one area affecting another area when a user is switched between areas.

Data Dictionary

The Data Dictionary supports all the normal data types used in business systems as well as extended data types such as Phone Numbers, Social Security Numbers, States and Zip codes. The data dictionary supports record structures for both simple tables as found in relational databases as well as the more complex record overlays and record types used in hierarchical databases that are just now being rediscovered as Java polymorphic objects.

Screen Design and Maintenance

The screen system is used to interactively design the user interface of an interactive program. It also provides automatic validation of input data based on the data type, pop up windows for tables and support for on-line help. For example, a list of valid postal abbreviations is provided for states, a zip code is automatically validated against the state, and only valid dates are allowed for a date field. These features eliminate as much as 90% of the code in a maintenance program.

The screen I/O can be user customized at run time to emulate many different user interfaces such as FMS or Oracle. This allows DSI programs to coexist with other systems without user retraining.

Interactive Database Query and Report Writer

The Interactive Query Utility (SELECT) allows records from RMS databases to be examined, updated or deleted without having to write programs. This utility uses a syntax similar to SQL to select records based on the value in any field and can sort them into the order specified. The Report Writer is an interactive utility that allows end users or analysts to access databases without having to write programs. Also included is the ability to extract records from a database to a comma delimited or fixed form that is compatible with spreadsheets and PC databases.

Compiled Report Design and Maintenance

Note: The use of the compiled report design utility is not recommended for new report development. Building the forms using Postscript allows for better presentation and the reports are then easily converted to PDFs.

DSI Works also provides a Report Design Utility that allows fully compiled reports to be generated. These compiled reports are only accessible from a program but, since they are fully compiled, run over ten times faster than the end user Report Writer.

Program Shell Generation

The Program Shell Generator uses a screen or report design database to produce a program shell. This is then edited to produce the final program source.

Precompiler

The Precompiler uses information from the Data Dictionary, Screen Utility and the Report Utility along with an extensive set of directives to extend Basic and COBOL. The output of the precompiler is then passed to the compiler which is then linked to produce a completely self-contained program. This eliminates the run time overhead for screen handling or query optimization associated with 4GLs while retaining the benefit of design utilities

Object Library of Business Support Modules

The object library provided with DSI Works is composed of over 100 routines that perform a wide variety of functions. Use of these library routines significantly reduces design and coding time while providing a consistent user interface.

Source Code Management

The Source Code Management system provides a source library that prevents multiple programmers from updating the same program, provides history of program changes and can regenerate older versions of a program from archived change files.

Automated Build Procedure

The Automated Build Procedure speeds up development by tracking changes to the modules composing a program and only recompiling modules as necessary to produce new versions of a program. This system is also capable of producing VAX, Alpha and/or Itanium versions of a program in a mixed architecture cluster.

Change Control and Project Management

The Change Control System coordinates changes to multiple programs and files necessary for a single update. This system prevents an update that affected multiple programs from being partially installed. It also stores management information that can be reported on using the report capabilities in SELECT or from compiled programs.

Data Transfer Utility

The Data Transfer Utility guides the user through a set of questions and then produces a fully compiled program that can transfer, manipulate and summarize records in a single database or between two databases. This utility is especially useful for developing programs to load data from outside sources such as comma delimited files.

Java-RMS Connector

The Java-RMS Connector allows Java programs to connect to RMS files. For more information see the Java/Web to RMS page.

Return to Home