Re: soft code

From: Brett Watters (bwatters_at_geometrix.bc.ca)
Date: 12/04/03 

Date: Thu, 4 Dec 2003 13:12:47 -0800

h koch,

My two cents worth.

It sounds like a buzz word. Similiar to "hard coded" it isn't strictly
defined so appears like it is it a sales buzz-word than any measurable item.
Exactly how static does an app have to be to be "hard coded"? How
open or extensible does an app have to be to be soft-coded?

That said, I assume whoever is using it is likely implying that their
applications
is:

a) Not based on strictly pre-defined values, constants, or rules. i.e. a
user
could specify the values used in determining processing logic. It's
impossible
to have every constant alterable -- number of days in a year -- but it isn't
hard to imagine having most constants which would typically wish to be
altered have some method of doing so.

b) Not hard-coding business rules. I.e. methods of calculating values,
determining which fields require input, field masks, custom fields, and
processes could somehow be made alterable. For example, a database
app might use an n-tiered approach and allow rules for validating data
to be set in the database. A soft-coded app might detect an error storing
the data, display the appropriate error message, and adjust it's interface
(say not allowing a dialog to be closed) based on the database error.
You can say that the application is "soft-coded" since it adjusts to
external rules which it doesn't know about at the time it was coded.

c) Allows the interface to be adjusted. For example, MS Outlook forms
allow users to create and/or adjust interfaces into various systems. A
client could build a form to sent shipping requests to the shipping
department even though no one at MS wrong any code/screens to allow
Outlook to operate as a shipping program. An app might allow clients
to move controls, hide controls, or even add new controls from within
the application (storing the changes elsewhere).

d) The application has a macroing language. Say VBA found within
Word or Excel. At various points, the application calls macros which
can modify the behaviour of the application. For example, when opening
a dialog or calculates an amount, or deletes something, the app calls a
macro.
If the user writes a macro, it could modify the dialog before the app
displays
it, overrides the value the app normally calculates, or prevents the
deletion
from occuring.

e) Embeds processing rules into a database or other system. For example,
there might be a database of "processes" which are called. By adjusting the
order and/or rules in the database, you cause the application to work
differently. You can even extend this down to the object and or field
level. For example, you might have a table storing all the fields within
your database with a "Visible" option on each. Turn this off and the
application
no longer displays the field on the screen. I've seen entire web-apps which
are basically rules defining how each element on each pages should be
displayed. Users can hide elements, re-order elements, add new elements,
etc.

I think the general assumption for a "soft-coded" application is that it has
one or more methods to allow it to be adjusted to a wide variety of needs
without the client needing a new application. I.e. two clients using the
same application, might have systems which work extremely differently.

At some point, the difference between a "soft-coded" application and a
development system can get some what fuzzy. General distinction is
likely that the "soft-coded" application does a general task out of the
box, but can be made more specific.

I think an acceptable definition of a good soft-coded application would be
that the application can be set-up to perform any specific business
requirement related to the general application, without issuing a new
application, even if the application's developers may not have considered
this.

Thanks,

Brett

"h koch" <hkoch@globalnet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:3fcf6957$1@newsgroups.borland.com...
> does any one know what a soft coded application is?
>
> thanks
>
>

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