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Template design for file processing applications
Author(s) -
Ramanathan Jay,
Shubra Charley
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
software: practice and experience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.437
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1097-024X
pISSN - 0038-0644
DOI - 10.1002/spe.4380160208
Subject(s) - computer science , documentation , software engineering , template , cobol , programming language , set (abstract data type) , domain (mathematical analysis) , mathematical analysis , mathematics
Even though the data processing domain is relatively well‐defined, application‐specific details vary too widely to conceive of totally automating programming and specification support. Conventional tools lack the semantic knowledge to constructively support software development. On the other hand, it is possible to design a prompting and guiding system that can elicit the application details. The limits of automated programming support possible for file and data processing applications were identified by means of a case study of COBOL and PL/I programs. The data gathered from this study facilitated the definition of seventeen widely applicable templates. The resulting template set has immediate value as a manual specification and documentation tool. The templates encourage programmers to make well‐considered design decisions and enforce standardized documentation.