The application software engineering tool

Abstract

The Programming Process - A Traditional View Programs have traditionally been viewed as the end result of the programming process, that is, code. Although the act of programming has been variously described as analysis, design, coding, etc., the terms program has had a single meaning-as a set of machine executable statements. This focus on code has impacted the goal of the activities within each phase of the software development life cycle and the documents produced within each phase. The dominating characteristic of a coded program is that, since it must execute on a computer, it is a procedure, or a set of steps or events. The requirement eventually to construct a procedure is such a dominating consideration in the mind of the programmer that the mental activity (and the flowcharts that document it) that takes place during the system design, program design and implementation specification phases of the life cycle also takes on a procedural flavor. Because of the view that coding is where the action is, the intent is always to invent and refine a procedural solution. All forces are summoned during the life cycle to move a procedurally organized solution toward its embodiment in code.