Out in Front: September 12, 1996

Software development is no longer a simple job. Today's design efforts need a full spectrum of tools, from software design and development tools through in-system debugging tools, including tools to manage the development process. Integrated Systems Inc's latest introduction, pRISM+, provides such a broad spectrum of tools in an object-oriented framework based on the CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) standard.

The tools are available through one graphical interface, the pRISM+ Manager. In addition to sharing the user interface, all tools in the suite share information resources over the CORBA bus. This bus, created by the Object Management Group (Framingham, MA), is designed to allow intelligent components to interoperate in a heterogeneous client/server environment. Software components adhering to the CORBA standard can access resources, both data and application programs, from other soft-ware components, regardless of their language or operating system. Thus, a C++ tool running on a Unix system can readily interact with a Java applet running on an MS-DOS system by using a object-request broker (ORB). The ORB stands between applications, serving as a translator. The ORB on pRISM+ is Orbix, from Iona Technologies (Dublin, Ireland).

The pRISM+ suite uses CORBA as a backbone and supports tool interaction by providing a set of common services. Tools, acting as clients, work with a repository and symbol server, a debug server, a communications server (for target-system interaction), and the pRISM+ server. These servers allow the sharing of data, target, and system resources among clients. The structure further allows addition of third-party tools to the framework without special knowledge of other clients; all APIs are open.

A basic pRISM+ system provides a choice of development and debugging tools for software running under the pSOSystem OS. Diab Data compiler suites for C and C++ provide the compiler, assembler, linker, archiver, and ANSI libraries for code development on 68K, PowerPC, and MIPS systems. The suites have special support for embedded applications, including complete control over memory allocation, RAM-disk file I/O functions, and an ability to mix C and assembly code. Intel compilers for the i960 and third-party compilers for the x86 are also available.

For debugging code, pRISM+ offers the SpOTLIGHT multitasking source-level debugger. Target interactions use the pROBE+ or pMONT target-resident debugging agents. Debuggers from Software Development Systems (Saratoga, CA) and other third-party vendors are also available.

A multiuser system takes pRISM+ a step beyond code development, providing a tool suite that meets all of a development project's needs. This full-up system includes the SNiFF+ series of project-management tools, the Esp analysis and code-visualization tools, APIs for extending the tool suite, and the capability to distribute the tools and servers across a network.

The SNiFF+ project-management tools allow software-development teams to share files while maintaining configuration control. By allowing each team to have its own working environment, while still having access to files generated by other teams, the teams become decoupled and can proceed without stepping on each other's development efforts. The tools include a Diff/Merge capability that can highlight differences between versions of files and merge them into a combined file. To investigate changes made by two developers to the same file, the Diff/Merge tool can also compare two variations of a base file with the base and each other.

pRISM+ is in beta testing and is scheduled for release to production in November. A basic system starts at approximately $7000; multiseat systems start at about $15,000. Background documents and most of the user documentation for pRISM+ is available at ISI's home page: http://www.isi.com.

—by Richard Quinnell

Integrated Systems Inc, Sunnyvale, CA. (408) 542-1500.