An approach to integrating and creating flexible software environments supporting the design of complex systems

In research on VEHICLES, a conceptual design environment for space systems, an approach is being developed for flexibility and integration based on the collection and then processing of explicit qualitative descriptions of all the software resources in the environment. The detailed descriptions (or metaknowledge) of the resources are used by the system to help partially automate the combination, selection, and adaptation of tools and models to the particular requirements of the user and the type of problem being solved. The author examines the types of flexibilities and integrative processes necessary to a design environment, especially the services available in an environment to help the user select, integrate, adapt, and explain the software resources in that environment (intelligent user support functions); the author´s approach to providing these services by the processing of explicit descriptions of the software resources (wrapping); and VSIM, a simulation built to study the nature of the wrappings, wrapping processors, and different software architectures