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The acronym CASE stands for Computer-Aided Software/Systems Engineering.
Traditionally, the system development process involved very little planning before programming of the
system began; and also, the IT group was not in constant communication with the users of
the system. This resulted in systems that did not meet user expectations. Today, many
organizations rely on a formal methodology to guide their system development tasks wherein the
methodology has specific guidelines regarding what is accomplished at specific stages of
the project, resulting in better systems. An increasing number of organizations have purchased
a CASE tool or are considering purchasing one to assist them with their system
development tasks. Oracle's popular CASE solution is the Designer/2000 toolset.
The idea of a life cycle is to break a large project into smaller units called
stages. Each stage consists of many specific tasks that must be completed before the next stage is started. The
life cycle begins with the initial idea of the project followed by planning and design,
programming, testing, implementing, and finally using the system. Usually the life cycle spends a lot of time
in the initial phases, where critical data is gathered from the user community and is
properly documented. Organizations must understand the importance of this stage; if they rush
through this stage, the resulting system might not be what the users expect.
A traditional SDLC consists of a minimum of five stages:
Oracle Corporation has a customized methodology called Oracle Case Method. Customers can purchase "CASE*Method Tasks and Deliverables," which details the tasks and outputs of each stage.
Here are some terms that you need to know:
Application. A logical grouping of software engineering elements that can represent anything from a high-level conceptual model to a specific system model.
DES2K repository/instance. An Oracle account that owns a set of database objects. Whenever you create, edit, or delete something in DES2K, the records of underlying tables are modified by DES2K via specific packages.
Subordinate user. An Oracle account that accesses the repository through synonyms.
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Repository. Consists of the tables and views used to interface with the data and the procedures to manage them.
A common terminology in use today is whether a given CASE tool is an upper CASE tool or a lower CASE tool. An upper CASE tool is used to define system requirements and produce diagrams and documentation, which can be reviewed by the users during the early stages of the project. An upper CASE tool is not used to generate the actual database or program modules. Lower CASE tools are primarily concerned with the design and building stages of the SDLC. They increase productivity by generating syntax to build databases and programs. On its own, neither tool is sufficient because the upper CASE tool does not increase productivity, whereas the lower CASE tool does not provide documentation for verification by the users.
Designer/2000 provides a complete upper CASE and lower CASE solution and supports the entire SDLC.
The logical model created during the analysis stage becomes the basis of the physical model, which is created during the design stage. Applications are generated using this model and therefore any business change is immediately reflected in the application. It also supports methodology from customers, which is not necessarily Oracle CASE method.
The minimal requirements for installing Designer/2000 are listed as follows (client side, then server side).
Client-side requirements:
Server-side requirements:
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NOTE |
Refer to the installation manuals to determine storage requirements. |
For the latest information on product availability, please contact Oracle WorldWide Customer Support. As of the date of this writing, the information available is as follows (by version):
Designer/2000 R 1.3.2:
Designer/2000 R 2.0:
Now let's cover information on the Designer/2000 components.
The Designer/2000 toolset components contain the following items:
Repository Services includes:
Systems Modeler includes:
Systems Designer includes: