rws@mvune.att.com (R W Stewart) (10/23/90)
Wednesday, October 17, 1990 TYNGSBORO, Mass. -- AT&T today announced a new software product is available for licensing that speeds the building of specification-driven software tools (SDTools) in the UNIX(R) System Programming environment. Introduced at the C-FORUM '90 conference here, the software, called the MetaTool(TM) Specification-Driven Tool Builder (SDTB), cuts from years to months the time needed to build SDTools. An SDTool is a software program that enables program developers to build software applications from high-level specifications instead of source code. This capability makes it possible for even novice programmers to write applications quickly and efficiently. With an SDTool, a program developer can write software specifications in familiar language, terms and concepts, which are then translated into the desired application. Another advantage to an SDTool is that it can be used to revise an application or to create new ones. Given a new or updated set of specifications, the SDTool will automatically generate another set of products that are consistent with the previous applications. The SDTool also can create the accompanying documentation and test scripts at the same time the application is developed. SDTools are generally difficult and time consuming to build. MetaTool SDTB was created by AT&T Bell Laboratories to help software developers resolve programming problems and shorten development time. Most SDTools take between one-and-a-half to three years to develop. By using MetaTool SDTB, a software tool designer can build an SDTool within one to three months, depending on the complexity of the tool. As an example, MetaTool SDTB simplifies the the specification of a grammar for an SDTool to only a few lines of text, and proceeds to generate the code necessary for the SDTool to read, tokenize, parse, store and analyze its input. Typical SDTools include fourth-generation-language processors, data-base application-generators, and computer- aided-software-engineering (CASE) tools. MetaTool SDTB can be used to generate device drivers, database systems, user interfaces, accounting systems, interprocess-message handlers, software-generation systems, translators and many other kinds of software development tools. MetaTool SDTB uses the C Programming Language and runs on any system supporting the UNIX Operating System. It also is compatible with object-oriented programming techniques and languages, such as C++. Licensing fees for MetaTool SDTB range from $65,000 to $150,000, depending on CPU class. Fees include installation, training, first-year maintenance and telephone support. The package is licensed through AT&T's Intellectual Property Division, 10 Independence Boulevard, Warren, N.J. 07059. Telephone: 1-800-462-8146. # # # MetaTool is a trademark of AT&T. UNIX is a registered trademark of UNIX System Laboratories. ------------------ R.W. Stewart rws@mvune.att.com