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Computer Aided
Software
Engineering (CASE)
Tools /lec2
Marrwa alabajee
Contents

1 Advantage of CASE Tools

1 Disadvantages of CASE Tools

2 Characteristics of CASE Tools

3 Building blocks for CASE Tools

 Advantage of CASE

There are many advantages of using CASE, Some of

them are:

1. A key benefit of using a CASE environment is cost

saving through all development phases. Different
studies carry out to measure the impact of CASE put
the effort reduction between 30% to 40%.

2. Use of CASE tools leads to considerable

improvements to quality, This is mainly due the
chances of human error are considerably reduced also
CASE tools help to ensure that quality is designed in
before the product is built.
 Advantage of CASE

3. CASE tools help produce high quality and consistent

documents. Since the important data relating to a
software product are maintained in a central repository,
redundancy in the stored data is reduced and therefore
chances of inconsistent documentation is reduced to a
great extent.

4. CASE provides the software engineer with the ability

to automate manual activities and to improve
engineering insight , CASE tools have reduced the hard
work of a software engineer.
 Advantage of CASE

5. CASE tools have led to revolutionary cost saving in

software maintenance efforts. This happen not only due
to the tremendous value of a CASE environment in
traceability and consistency checks, but also due to the
systematic information capture during the various
phases of software development as a result of adhering
to a CASE environment.

6. information is illustrated through diagrams, which are

easier to understand.
 Advantage of CASE

7. Introduction of a CASE environment has an impact on

the style of working of a company, and makes it oriented
towards the structured and orderly approach, because the
CASE described as software tools for enterprise support
consisting of enterprise strategic planning, project
planning, else.

8. The speed during the system development increased,

With CASE tools, tasks can be completed and altered
much faster.
 Advantage of CASE
9. Many modern CASE tools that support object oriented
systems development, supports round-trip engineering (a
development technique). For example, a tool that supports
UML diagrams can generate programming code that can be
modified by the programmers, at which point the UML
diagrams will need to be changed as they no longer
accurately represent the code. Most tools for UML also
supports the generation of UML diagrams from code.

In this way, the system can evolve (improve) via diagrams

and via code. This is called round-trip engineering.
 Disadvantages of CASE Tools
The major disadvantages of using CASE Tools in Software
Engineering are :

1. Cost : The CASE tools available for use are very costly.
Thus, most of the small scale organizations that develop
software do not tend to invest in CASE tools because of the
thinking that the benefits of CASE tools are worthed only in
large organizations that develop big projects.

2. Learning Curve : The programmer need time to learn

how to use the CASE tools thus, the programmer
productivity may fall in the initial phases of implementation.
 Disadvantages of CASE Tools

3. Tool Mix : For getting the cost advantage of CASE

integration and data integration it is important to make an
important selection of tool mix. The ability of sharing the
results of task performed with one CASE tool with another
CASE tool is the most important type of CASE integration.

4. Trained maintenance staffs are needed , The systems

that are produced primarily require great cost to maintain.

5. It requires more perfect and extensive definition of the

user's needs.
 Characteristics of CASE Tools
: CASE tool should have the following characteristics

: Standard Methodology (1
A CASE tool should support standard software development
methodologies and modelling techniques. Presently, CASE
.tools use UML

: Flexibility (2
CASE tool must provide flexibility and options to the user for
editors and other tools.
 Characteristics of CASE Tools
3) Strong Integration :
CASE tools must be integrated with all stages of software
development. This means that if a change is made in a model,
it must reflect in the code documentation and all related
design. Hence, this offers an organized environment for
software generation.

4) Support for Reverse Engineering :

CASE tools should be as that it can create complex models
from existing code.

5) Online Help :
CASE tools offer online tutorials.
 Building blocks for CASE
❖ Computer aided software engineering can be as simple
as a single tool that supports a specific software
engineering activity or as complex as a complete
"environment" that encompasses tools, a database,
people, hardware, a network, operating systems,
standards, and myriad other components.

❖ The building blocks for CASE are illustrated in Figure

1.1. Each building block forms a foundation for the next,
with tools sitting at the top of the heap.
Building blocks for CASE

Figure 1.1 CASE building blocks

 Building blocks for CASE
❖ It is interesting to note that the foundation for effective
CASE environments has relatively little to do with
software engineering tools themselves.

❖ Rather, successful environments for software engineering

are built on an environment architecture that
encompasses appropriate hardware and systems
software. In addition, the environment architecture must
consider the human work patterns that are applied during
the software engineering process.
 Building blocks for CASE
❖ The environment architecture, composed of the
hardware platform and system support (including
networking software, database management, and object
management services), lays the ground work for CASE.
But the CASE environment it self demands other building
blocks.

❖ A set of portability services provides a bridge between

CASE tools and their integration framework and the
environment architecture.
 Building blocks for CASE
❖ The integration framework is a collection of specialized
programs that enables individual CASE tools to
communicate with one another, to create a project
database, and to exhibit the same look and feel to the
end-user (the software engineer).

❖ Portability services allow CASE tools and their integration

framework to migrate across different hardware platforms
and operating systems without significant adaptive
maintenance.

❖ The building blocks depicted in Figure 1.1 represent a

comprehensive foundation for the integration of CASE tools.
.
 Building blocks for CASE
❖ However, most CASE tools in use today have not been
constructed using all these building blocks. In fact,
some CASE tools remain "point solutions".

❖ That is, a tool is used to assist in a particular software

engineering activity (e.g., analysis modeling) but does
not directly communicate with other tools, is not tied
into a project database, is not part of an integrated
CASE environment (ICASE).

❖ Although this situation is not ideal, a CASE tool can be

used quite effectively, even if it is a point solution. The
relative levels of CASE integration are shown in Figure
1.2. At the low end of the integration spectrum is the
individual (point solution) tool.
Building blocks for CASE

Figure 1.2 Integration option

 Building blocks for CASE
❖ When individual tools provide facilities for data
exchange (most do), the integration level is improved
slightly.
❖ Such tools produce output in a standard format that
should be compatible with other tools that can read
the format.
❖ In some cases, the builders of complementary CASE
tools work together to form a bridge between the tools
(e.g., an analysis and design tool that is coupled with
a code generator).
❖ Using this approach, the synergy between the tools
can produce end products that would be difficult to
create using either tool separately.
 Building blocks for CASE

❖ Single-source integration occurs when a single

CASE tools vendor integrates a number of different
tools and sells them as a package.

❖ Although this approach is quite effective, the closed

architecture of most single-source environments
precludes easy addition of tools from other vendors.
 Building blocks for CASE
❖ At the high end of the integration spectrum is the
integrated project support environment (IPSE).

❖ Standards for each of the building blocks described

previously have been created. CASE tool vendors
use IPSE standards to build tools that will be
compatible with the IPSE and therefore compatible
with one another.
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