From: dennis.gleeson@woodybbs.com (Dennis Gleeson) Date: Fri, 10 Mar 95 10:29:00 -0500 Organization: WoodyWare Software, Inc. - 516-736-6662 BETA PRODUCT REVIEW: "LogiCASE" by Logic Technologies Developing Logically Sane Software! _________________________________________________________________ Reviewed by: Dan D. Gutierrez, President of AMULET Consulting a Los Angeles based software development firm, instructor in various programming languages for UCLA Extension, and author of two books on programming. Dan is also Chief SYSOP of the AMULET:vc BBS (a collection of virtual communities) 310-374-6999. As a software developer for the past 25 years, I have evaluated and used a plethora of tools that enhance the art form that is computer programming. Naturally, I regularly look for useful tools to make my software development task simpler. When I was first introduced to a beta version of LogiCASE I immediately recognized that it is a completely different kind of tool. Here is a tool that addresses probably the most fundamental and elusive reason why programs fail: holes in the logic portions of the code. As a developer, I know that most of the time I feel that I've managed to understand and then implement all possible ways a program can operate. Often however, the logic situation is such that my confidence level is less than 100% that I've accounted for all combinations of conditions and actions which my program must process. In these cases, careful test suites may uncover logic holes, but then again some never surface until its too late. Along these lines, using LogiCase can definitely reduce the amount of time spent during the debugging phase of a project. With LogiCASE at your side, you can check your C code to ensure it is logically complete and if not, have a logically complete version of your original code generated and inserted into a copy of your existing code. Mind you, LogiCASE is not only for new development as I've used it many times to check old, production code, sometimes with surprising results. It's great to run my current code base through the LogiCASE reengineering function and check to see if I've missed anything. The way I see it, LogiCase could be used in three general areas. The first is the obvious one, ferreting out bugs in a new software implementation. As the software is built and new code sections added, LogiCase can step in to check the robustness of a program. Next, LogiCase may be a valuable tool for programming managers to verify important code sections and modules developed by his/her team. For example, in a mission critical application such as a bank ATM machine, a manager may determine whether or not all crucial update transactions are performed as they should. Lastly, this tool can play an important role in analyzing and documenting inherited legacy code. I'm sure we've all been assigned the task to add a new feature to an existing application only to find that the code is far from stable (hanging on a shoestring is often the case!). With LogiCase, legacy code may be reengineered to see if the logic is indeed complete. If not, a new and complete version may be quickly generated, all automatically. Then the code will be in a much better position to be modified for new requirements. The key feature of LogiCase is its Re-Engineering Menu. You begin by loading a C source code file in the built-in editor and proceed to highlight a section of code you wish to verify. Then you may either choose the Re-Code or Re-Design feature. The former automatically transfers the code to the integrated logic Designer that performs the completeness check and determines the missing logic if any. LogiCase then produces a revised version of the source code and displays it in another window for your perusal and inclusion in your program. The Re- Design option allows you to refine your program's logic in decision table form directly inside the logic Designer. In either case, the net result is a logically complete program. Any holes in the logic that were once there are now sealed tight. The logic Designer, accessible through the New Design option, is a tremendous programming aid in its own right, allowing you to represent logic in a language independent form, a decision table, and then automatically generate the C source code (additional languages generated by the logic Designer include: Basic, Xbase, COBOL, Fortran, Pascal and English). LogiCase also has two reports, the Transform Report and the Condense Report that document the work done on your C source code. The program even builds the decision table that represents your logic which in turn can act like very detailed system documentation. LogiCase is a DOS application and has an impressive user interface consisting of various pull-down menus complete with mouse control. The program works best with a VGA condensed display due to the amount of information needed on the screen at once. LogiCase functionality consumes memory pursuant to the code being considered. More complex code takes more memory. Luckily the program has a built-in Phar-Lap DOS Extender in order to take advantage of additional RAM that you may have. The one caveat I have with LogiCase is that it does not yet support any special C++ constructs that may appear in the source code you select. With the recent industry wide trend towards object oriented programming I trust that this support will soon be included in LogiCase's otherwise excellent offerrings. The publisher is so confident that a C programmer who applies the techniques offered by this product will be reaping advantageous results within 1 year that they offer a 1 year unconditional money back guarantee for the product. I would be surprised if they get many back. LogiCase is in my programmer's toolbox with a 5 star rating. In the final analysis, LogiCase is probably the BEST investment you can make for your software development needs. Highly recommended! LogiCASE comes complete with a 258 page user's manual and has a $497.00 introductory price (the retail list price is $997). You can call the publisher, Logic Technologies, to order this product by credit card (Visa/ Mastercard/AMEX). Call toll free 800-776-3818 ** Ext. FG21 ** (US) or 619-228-9653 ** Ext. FG21 ** Fax an order to 1-619-369-1185. FAX orders please include:"ATTN Dept. 254-FG21" Orders with checks can be mailed to: Logic Technologies 56089 Twentynine Palms Highway Suite 254-FG21, Yucca Valley, CA 92284. $497.00 + $5.00 shipping and handling + California sales tax Reprinted by permission of AMULET:VC BBS _Dennis_Gleeson_KINGS_PARK,_NY_RIME->5190_or_->YOURSOFTWARE_ _Internet:_Dennis.Gleeson@woodybbs.com_ --- * CMPQwk #1.42-20 * UNREGISTERED EVALUATION COPY