A Visual Approach to Distributed Programming

The Software Architect’s Assistant is a visual programming environment for the design and development of Regis distributed programs. It provides the user with automated, intelligent assistance throughout the software design process. Facilities provided include the display of integrated graphical and textual views, a flexible mechanism for recording design information and the automatic generation of program code and formatted reports from design diagrams. Software reuse is also supported through the use of component libraries. The main focus of the Assistant is on the application of visual techniques to the design and construction of parallel and distributed programs. Particular emphasis is placed on utilising the software architectural view as a framework for integrating the various software development activities, ranging from early, informal program design to the evolution of the running program. Support for graphical monitoring and management of running programs, currently provided by a complementary tool, will be integrated into the environment to provide a complete solution for visual distributed programming.