 
ISBN: 1-56607-033-3
Pages: 197
Published: December 1996
Svenska
About the report
CTR's
report provides an in-depth analysis of client/server (C/S) application
development (AD) issues and helps IS managers create and implement a
strategic AD plan. The report explains both the technical and market
implications of the growing trend toward C/S technology with special
emphasis on how to choose from among the many application development
tools (ADTs) offered by different vendors.
The
report reviews why AD is one of the most important issues facing IS
managers today. Organizations are budgeting more and more funds for AD
in an effort to maximize the benefits of new technologies and computing
paradigms. The past 10 years have seen an unending stream of new
hardware technology, new architectures, new operating systems, and a
broader base of new users. All of these factors are driving demand for
AD resources.
The
shift toward C/S computing is rapidly changing the way the modern
enterprise manages and develops information. More and more
mission-critical data is being delivered to end users through local
area networks (LANs), and this data is increasingly residing on the LAN
servers. AD in the C/S environment is not an easy task -- the report
explains how to avoid the major potential difficulties and maximize
results.
The
report suggests step-by-step procedures for successful C/S AD. These
steps include: selecting the right development environment; choosing a
methodology; building the right development team; testing early and
often; standardizing as much as possible; and deciding the fate of
corporate legacy resources.
ADTs
can dramatically reduce coding, maintenance, and development time, and
increase user satisfaction. Spurred by the growing adoption of C/S
architectures, tool vendors are moving to update their products in
every direction. They are expanding features, operating on more
platforms, offering new graphical user interfaces (GUIs), linking to
complementary tools, providing gateways to multiple databases, and
developing ADT standards.
The
report addresses the most important factors in selecting ADTs, which
include: architecture, user interfaces, information access and
presentation, application logic, and platform support. CTR's report
provides classifications for the different tools available and assesses
relationships between the tools. The report covers ADT categories such
as fourth-generation language (4GL) and computer-aided software
engineering (CASE) tools.
In
addition to evaluating individual tools, the report examines when and
how IT managers should implement toolsets which constitute a complete
AD environment. A successful AD environment should have scalability,
flexibility, and programmer-productivity technologies, and offer
life-cycle support. The report also discusses the importance of
object-oriented programming (OOP) and GUIs to C/S AD.
CTR's
report helps IS managers evaluate, select, and implement ADTs which are
appropriate for their organizations and explains how to choose a vendor
who is likely to evolve with the application needs of an organization.
In addition to in-depth analyses of ADTs, the report covers related
technologies and provides guidelines for implementing a C/S AD plan.
Report contents
Chapter 1: Client/server application development environments
- First and Second Generation C/S
- How to Choose the Right C/S AD Environment
- New Tasks for C/S AD Environments
- Review of Different Environments Available
- Qualities
C/S AD Environments Should Have: Scalability and Flexibility,
Programmer Productivity Technologies, Scripting Languages, Visual
Programming Environment, Object-oriented Programming (OOP), Software
Life-cycle Support, Programming/Testing, Maintenance
- Future Trends: Distributed Program Development and Business Modeling
Chapter 2: Application development methodologies
- Creating the Right Development Team
- Problems with Using Workgroups in Development
- Some AD Methodologies
- Waterfall vs. Rapid Application Development (RAD)
- The 3-Tier Development Approach
Chapter 3: Application development standards
- The Corporate Application Programming Interface (API)
- Central and Line IS Responsibilities
- Adopting and Implementing the Corporate API
- Imposing Standards
- Planning for the Future
- The Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Coalition for Software Productivity Through Open Systems
Chapter 4: Client/server pitfalls
- Case Studies of C/S Difficulties
- SQL Statements
- Data Synchronization
- Scalability of Pilot Projects
- Screen Element Compatibility
- User Empowerment Issues
- The Importance of Version Control
- Middleware
Chapter 5: Testing, metrics and quality
- Testing Difficulties and Solutions
- Types of Tests: Stress, Functional, Black Box, Acceptability, and Regression Testing
- Testing Methodologies
- Designing
Test Cases: Test Case Independence; Avoiding Both Redundancies and Gaps
in Testing; Test Early; What to Look for in Testing Tools; Pros and
Cons of Automating Testing
Chapter 6: The tools
- Upper, Lower, and Integrated CASE Tools
- The Repository: Active Versus Passive Repositories; Lack of Enterprisewide Repositories; Standards for Repositories
- The Marriage of CASE and ADT
- 4GL Tools
- Comparisons of 4GL Tools from Different Vendors
- GUIs
- Rapid Prototyping
- Inter-tool Compatibility
- Miscellaneous Tools
Chapter 7: Object-oriented programming
- Drawbacks and Benefits of Object Technology
- Retraining Business Organizations for OOP
- The Object Standard Wars: Microsoft Versus OMG
- Interfacing with Legacy Applications
- Three Legacy Access Approaches
- Key Functions of OOP AD Tools
- The Object Tools
Chapter 8: Graphical user interface development
- Guidelines for Developing Great GUIs
- GUI Development Tools
- Some Cross-platform GUI Development Tools
Chapter 9: Electronic software distribution
- Market Segments in ESD
- Pitfalls of Buying an ESD Package
- Planning for ESD Purchases
- ESD Vendors
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