A configurable visual programming environment: a tool for domain-specific programming

Visual programming is an appealing technique, which many environments support. It can be applied in a system development process that nonsoftware engineers can perform. The key is to use visual domain specific models. Because there are many different domains, it is economical to develop a generic and configurable visual programming environment (VPE) that can be customized for the domains and paradigms. The author discusses a generic VPE´s requirements, design, and implementation, and illustrates its use in a system, the Intelligent Process-Control System (IPCS), for the process control domain. This VPE and the IPCS have been developed in a multiyear research effort. Different versions of the VPE are used at many companies, including Boeing, DuPont, and NASA, and the IPCS has been commercialized by the Osaka Gas Information Systems Research Institute (Osaka, Japan)