CASE TOOL

What is CASE?
In general, a software engineer and engineer of the other disciplines in the build / develop a product, have the following characteristics:

1. Knowing the benefits of tools that can help in building / developing a product.
2. Ability to organize tools that enable it to work quickly and efficiently.
3. Have technical knowledge to build / develop the product in use and powerful tools to help their work.

In software engineering has been recognized many tools (computer-base system) is known as the Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE). CASE is a technique used to help one or several phases in the software life-cycle, including phase analysis, design, implementation and maintenance of software. Benefits of CASE tools for software engineers is described as follows:

1. CASE tools increase the possibility of automation of each phase in the life-cycle software.
2. CASE tools are very helpful in improving the quality of a software design model before the software is built / developed, both for the software that was built in simple and complex environment.

There are many tools that support the development / development of a software. To avoid confusion, CASE tools were divided into several categories:

1. Information engineering-supporting products. There are a few of the life-cycle, which resulted from the company's strategic plan and that provides a repository to create and maintain enterprise models, data models and process models.
2. Structured diagramming-supporting products. This product is in support memodelkan data flow, control flow and entity flow.
3. Structured development aids-providing products. Is a product that matches the system used by analysts, as supported by a structured process so that penganalisaan more quickly and accurately.
4. Application-code-Generating products. This product is able to produce application-specific code for the purpose set by designer.

CASE tools classified as follows:

1. Upper CASE. CASE tools designed to support the planning, identification, and selection of projects (from beginning of project planning), precisely on the analysis and design phase of a system development life cycle (SDLC). Tools that include this class is the type of Diagramming tools, Form and report generators, and Analysis tools. Example of CASE tools: Cradle, PRO-IV Workbench, ProKit * WORKBENCH.
2. Lower CASE. CASE tools designed to support the implementation and maintenance phases of SDLC. Tools that include this class is the type of code generators. Example of CASE tools: Level / l-Sensitive Users CASE, PRO-IV application Development.
3. Cross life-cycle CASE / Integrated CASE (I-CASE). CASE tools designed to support aktifikas-activity that occurs in several phases of SDLC. Combining Upper and Lower CASE into one. Tools that include this class is the type of Project management tools. Example of CASE tools: Rational Rose, Poseidon, ArgoUML, Catalyze, in-Step, Juggler, PRINCE.

Why should use CASE? This preference is the emergence of CASE tools: as for the software engineer is just making the software to optimize the work of others. While the software engineer in the activities themselves have not fully terotomatisasi. So muncullah CASE tools to help the software engineer is.
When should use CASE? CASE tools have this, when:

1. The increasing market demand akan software, so that the required tools to expedite the making of software, in order to offset the demand markets.
2. The development of technology that was faster cause the client software to update the software engineers who already have or build new software that has a more complex specification.

Where CASE can be used? CASE tools used in all activities, software engineer, including in the process of analysis, design, implementation, installation and maintenance, both on the environment the simple to the complex that includes: database, people, hardware, network, operating system.
How do I use CASE? In using a CASE tools, there are several stages that must be done first. Among them:

1. Make a study of the technology so that we can prepare for the impact of technology changes that will happen later, so the model can be built later flexible to change.
2. Evaluate how existing organizations must be rebuilt to take advantage of new technology.
3. Set a provision to replace the old system with new technology the most effective.
4. Define a system development methodology.

After these stages, then we can determine that CASE tools will be used, eg: Poseidon for UML or ArgoUML.

ArgoUML
ArgoUML is an interactive tool that is used for designing, developing and documenting the software-based object. ArgoUML was built by Jason Robbins with colleagues at the University of California.
ArgoUML is used by the designers, developers, analysts, and others involved in the analysis, design and development of a software. One of the advantages is 100% platform independent and open source. ArgoUML does not actually own to manufactured / marketed officially. There are some issues that may arise during use. Compared with a similar commercial tools, ArgoUML can be less stable. However, because it is the open source ArgoUML, the destination so that we can expand and mengcustomize own features you want and improve the mistakes that were found.
For the purpose of educational and commercial, ArgoUML can be more interesting peminat. This is evident until mid-2001 there were already 100,000 people who download the ArgoUML since first released in 1998.

Poseidon for UML
Poseidon is a commercial version of ArgoUML made by Marko Boger, which is one of the researchers at the University of Hamburg. He was also one of the team led by Jason Robbins when developing ArgoUML. Poseidon when Jason Robbins made out of the team to do other work.
Poseidon was built and developed in a way working together with experts and leading companies. The goal is to build a comprehensive tools based on the needs of different users.

Phase Development and Maintenance Phase
This second phase is not in one phase, because the second phase has a phase / stages each. However, in the maintenance phase of development is cyclic, is located within the development phase or become one of the software development phase. However, although such phase maintenance phase activities have withdrawn after the system installed and used. Maintenance includes corrections and improvements to the existing berabagai error.

Device software development that cyclic activities include among others:

1. Studies and Analysis
2. Global design
3. Design detail
4. Implementation
5. Operation and Maintenance

So the second phase is not in one particular phase, but the maintenance phase syclyc be part of the phase of software development.