Tool Integration and Environment Architectures

Abstract
The expanding CASE (computer aided software engineering) market is having substantial impact on software development environment technology in the area of environment support for tool integration. Sharpened awareness of CASE integration requirements, particularly in the context of the large number of fully developed CASE tools, has resulted in a technology shift away from monolithic integrated project SUPPORT environments (IPSE) derived from the Stoneman model in favor of highly distributed environments based upon a federation of environment services. Federated environments promise environment framework support for the reuse of a large number of existing CASE tools and the development of highly interactive, tightly-integrated CASE environments. The evolution of environment framework technology to support CASE federation is predicated on an improved understanding of the techniques and issues of tool integration. One reflection of this improved understanding is recognition of the need to address integration mechanisms, tool semantic integration, and tool process integration as separate but related issues. This paper describes the evolution of environment architectures to support federated CASE integration and outlines the implications of this evolution on the technical issues of CASE tool integration.

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