Infosys v1n024 (June 20, 1994) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/infosys/infs-v1n024 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * IIIII N N FFFFF OOO SSSSS Y Y SSSSS * * I NN N F O O S Y Y S * * I N N N FFF O O SSSSS Y SSSSS * * I N NN F O O S Y S * * IIIII N N F OOO SSSSS Y SSSSS * * * * INFOSYS: The Electronic Newsletter for Information Systems * * Volume 1, Number 24 June 20, 1994 * * * * Editor: Dennis W. Viehland, Massey University, New Zealand * * Listowner: Greg Welsh, American University, Washington DC * * * * Current Subscribers = 3,030 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TABLE OF CONTENTS * * * * * * * * * * * * * NEWS - From EDUPAGE * * HEARD ON THE NET - What is a CASE tool? * * CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 0197* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * NEWS - From EDUPAGE * * Dennis Viehland, Massey University (d.viehland@massey.ac.nz) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * COMPAQ COPIES WAL-MART APPROACH TO STORAGE: Taking a tip from retail giant Wal-Mart, Compaq Computer Corp. is requiring parts suppliers to warehouse their products near its factory until Compaq is ready to use them. As a result, the company has been able to boost production to meet demand and maintain inventory with no backlog of orders. Analysts predict the increased production capability will enable Compaq to slash prices even further in an aggressive bid to increase market share. "I think Apple and IBM are in for a dogfight," says an industry analyst. (Wall Street Journal 6/17/94 B4) NEW NETWORK DIVISION AT IBM: IBM is creating a new Networked Applications Services division to consolidate the company's projects in multimedia, electronic trading, Internet services, video teleconferencing, software for networked groups, interactive information kiosks, and electronic publishing. (New York Times 6/17/94 C3) SOCIAL GUIDE TO NETWORKING: It's no secret that networking happens both on and off-line, and the social aspects of working together through technology should not be overlooked. MecklerWeb President Chris Locke suggests seven principles of effective networking: talk to anyone about anything; develop a high tolerance for ambiguity; be willing to look stupid; give more than you take; cultivate fearlessness; go on gut instinct; and expand your sense of humor. (InformationWeek 6/20/94 p.94) PC SOFTWARE FOR PCs: The Grammatik style- and grammar-checker in WordPerfect 6.0 has "politically correct" advice for writers. An example: "Try to avoid using girl or girlish to refer to adult women. Try young person, young woman or woman." (New York Magazine 6/20/94 p.15) COMPUTER NERDS DRINK MORE COGNAC: Data collected by Direct Magazine indicate that technophiles drink more cognac (and beer), travel more often and play more golf than the overall population. (InformationWeek 6/20/94 p.8) Editor's Note: Edupage, a summary of news items on information technology, is a service of Educom. This is an abbreviated list of news items of interest to the IS community from the June 19, 1994 issue. \EOA 0198* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * HEARD ON THE NET - What is a CASE tool? * * Dennis W. Viehland, INFOSYS Editor (d.viehland@massey.ac.nz) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * After a period of relative inactivity, the CASE-L list (CASE-L@ucop.edu) recently burst into several discussion threads. One question put to the list to generate some dicussion was "What is a CASE tool?" A summary of that discussion from 24-25 May 1994 is included below. A complete transcript is available in the May 1994 CASE-L log file. To obtain a copy of this log file (103k) send the following one-line message to listserv@ucop.edu): get CASE-L log9405 To join the CASE-L electronic discussion group send the following message to listserv@ucop.edu): subscribe CASE-L yourfirstname yourlastname The CASE-L listowner is Richard Hintz (richard.hintz@ucop.edu). What about discussing the definition of a CASE tool? I have heard people talking about 'CASE tools' when they talk about ABC Flowcharter. Is Windows Paintbrush a CASE tool? A good salesperson sells emacs-editor as a CASE tool (even an object- oriented one!). In literature I haven't seen any definitions recently. (Are 'gurus' afraid of saying or defining that matter? Or is CASE out of date - I don't think so.) To start, my definition is: a CASE tool supports more than one phase of software life-cycle, and it has a repository (or equivalent data dictionary or encyclopedia). --Ahtee Tero, Tampere Univ of Technology (Finland) (tensu@cs.tut.fi) I'll try to give you my version, based on several 'gurus', and chosen after having read more than 15 others recently: "A CASE-tool is an automated tool that supports IS-development, and a set of 'functions' for checking the results/what is drawn." Along with this, there are a lot of different other conditions to be met. Anyhow, I think it is important that one doesn't reject a tool that one might find practical, just because the retailer or colleagues or ... don't agree. That's why my definition is somewhat 'blurry'. I'll argue that a CASE-tool MUST support more than one phase. (It CAN, though.) I would call such a CASE-tool an ICASE (Integrated Computer ..). --Erik Westnes, NHI-Datahoegskolen (Norway) (erik.westnes@nhidh.nki.no) For me, a CASE tool is a software that can help you perform more easily any of the phases of the software life cycle. --Yves Canty, Ericsson Research Inc. (lmcyvca@lmc.ericsson.se) CASE definition from a delightful book titled "The Olduvai Imperative CASE and the state of Software Engineering Practice" by Peter Degrace and Leslie Hulet Stahl: "CASE Tools are software that is used by programmers to do their jobs and are not ordinarily used by other folks. A data-flow diagram editor and a code debugger are CASE tools, while word processors and Space Invaders are not." --Lydia Palmer, Rhodes University (South Africa) (lpalmer@sunbird.ru.ac.za) For a definition, I would say that a CASE tool is another computer application currently for systems professionals to help them produce better computer applications throughout their life cycle from conception to death. CASE and CADD are very similar in concept and approach. --Joel M Ouriou, InfoTecture Consulting (Canada) (ouriouj@cuug.ab.ca) I won't attempt to embellish the previously submitted CASE definitions, but I'd like to underscore that word "seamless". I spend so much of my time trying to haywire together multiple applications each of which do several things nicely, but lack some essential element. The ideal system would provide a continuum of levels of abstraction from that could be navigated using large ZOOM-IN ZOOM-OUT buttons. --Clare Love, (579-4946@mcimail.com) Editor's note: this is a "subthread" in this discussion, CASE tool vs VPE: In a recent post a person tried to define a CASE tool. Could anybody tell me what is the difference between a CASE tool and Visual Programming Environments? I think there is a thin line between both of them. --Marcos Sebastian Alsina, Infocon Tecnologia Ltda (Brazil) (marcos@paqtc.paqtc.rpp.br) Personally, I'd say that a VPE may be a CASE tool (and is likely to at least involve some higher level CASE functionality) but a CASE tool is not necessarily a VPE. TeX is typesetting tool, but it certainly is not a WYSIWYG page layout tool. On the other hand, many FORTH implementations and most of the old LOGO implementations have been VPE's to some extent, not graphical in the case of some FORTHs, but certainly not what I'd categorize as CASE, (if you can bear a pun) in either case. I certainly would not set out to design a CASE tool today without a graphical lines-of-control construction capacity. Hmmm, thinking of FORTH, neither would I design a CASE tool without inherent extensibility, preferably at the user level. Extensibility is why FORTH is still around and in production use... it's not just the "forth-rightness of a programming religion" (sorry, that just goes with Forth), despite its lack of forgiveness of slight typographical errors. I think there's a bit more to a full end-to-end CASE system than just a VPE. --Bruce Gingery, Total System Software (lcbginge@antelope.wcc.edu) I believe that there are worlds between them. IMHO, the VPE's are an implementation of a programming language. For example, I use CA- Realizer (from Computer Associates - is there anyone else left??). This product is a Micro$oft Visual Basic competitor. Now, I can use the tool to draw a "form" (dialog box definition), and generate code from it. Now, I could have coded the Realizer commands myself to create the dialog box. It is just easier, i.e. quicker, to draw the dialog on the screen than to count pixels. I guess what I am trying to say is that I consider a VPE to be an implementation of a programming language. In my **opinion**, a CASE tool is more than that. Sure, there are a few around that purport to generate code. More often than that, they do not. But a programming language is just one step of the life cycle - and a later step at that. I believe that a CASE tool needs to help plan WHAT you code, not just the code itself. --James F. Stoves, (72561.746@compuserve.com) \EOA 0199* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS * * Dennis W. Viehland, INFOSYS Editor (d.viehland@massey.ac.nz) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * June 30, 1994 Call for papers, submission deadline HEURISTICS: The Journal of Knowledge Engineering and Technology Special Issue on the Integration of Digital Multimedia Tech and KBS Contact: mwarkent@research1.bryant.edu (see article 0150, INFOSYS v1 n17) July 1, 1994 Call for papers, submission deadline Journal of Organizational Computing Special Issue on Network Organizations Contact: atcyc@acvax.inre.asu.edu (see article 0106, INFOSYS v1 n12) July 1, 1994 Call for papers, submission deadline Expert Systems With Applications Special Issue on Expert Systems for Accounting, Auditing and Tax Contact: brownc@bus.orst.edu (see article 0079, INFOSYS v1 n9) July 1, 1994 Call for papers, submission deadline The Network Services Conference 1994 (NSC'94) 28-30 November 1994 London, England Contact: nsc94@earncc.earn.net (see article 0131, INFOSYS v1 n15) July 1, 1994 Call for papers, submission deadline Southeast Asian Regional Computer Confederation Special Regional Interest Group - Educ and Training (SRIG-ET'94) 5th Annual Working Conference 21-24 November 1994 University of Otago Dunedin, New Zealand Contact: sriget@otago.ac.nz (see article 0141, INFOSYS v1 n16) July 1, 1994 Call for papers, submission deadline The Network Services Conference 1994 (NSC'94) 28-30 November 1994 London, England Contact: nsc94@earncc.earn.net (see article 0173, INFOSYS v1 n20) July 2-5, 1994 5th IFIP Conference on Women, Work and Computerization "Breaking Old Boundaries: Building New Forms" Manchester, United Kingdom Contact: cmtsw@staffs.ac.uk (see article 0074, INFOSYS v1 n9) July 4, 1994 Pacific Rsrch Institute for Info Systems and Management (PRIISM '95) January 2, 1995 Kihei, Hawaii Contact: priism@uccs.edu (see article 0114, INFOSYS v1 n13) July 4-6, 1994 Third Women in Computing Conference "Broadening the Network" Brisbane, Australia Contact: gurrie@fit.qut.edu.au 7-8 July 1994 Computers in Southern Africa, Fifth Annual Conference Cape Town South Africa Contact: jmiller@gsb2.uct.ac.za (see article 187, INFOSYS v1 n23) July 11-13, 1994 Boston Forum II A Trend Analysis Meeting for the Electronic Information Industry Boston, MA, Contact: 100142,2211@compuserve.com (see article 0139, INFOSYS v1 n16) July 15, 1994 Call for papers, submission deadline 8th Conference on Software Engineering Education March 29 - April 1, 1995 New Orleans, Louisiana Contact: education@sei.cmu.edu (forthcoming in INFOSYS) July 14-16, 1994 Technology and Shifting Roles and Organizational Boundaries Levis Faculty Center University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Urbana, Illinois Contact: lynn_padilla@ceps.uiuc.edu (see article 0170, INFOSYS v1 n20) July 17-20, 1994 Annual Conf of International Business Schools Computing Assoc Baltimore, Maryland USA Contact: bapna@moe.morgan.edu July 28-30, 1994 13th International Distributed Artificial Intelligence Workshop Seattle, Washington USA Contact: mklein@atc.boeing.com July 29, 1994 Call for papers, submission deadline 4th Workshop on Information Technologies and Systems (WITS'94) December 17-18, 1994 Vancouver, B.C., Canada Contact: deprabud@udavxb.oca.udayton.edu (see article 0078, INFOSYS v1 n9) July 30 - August 6, 1994 Third International Conference for Systems Integration Sao Paulo City, Brazil Contact: ng_p@vienna.njit.edu or iiisis@ccvax.unicamp.br July 31, 1994 Call for papers, submission deadline Accounting Education (UK) Special issue on Expert Systems in Accounting Education Contact: a.sangster@aberdeen.ac.uk (see article 0107, INFOSYS v1 n12) August 1, 1994 Call for papers, submission deadline DATA BASE (May 1995) Special issue on Adoption, Diffusion, and Implementation Contact: mary@cfrvm.cfr.usf.edu (see article 0049, INFOSYS v1 n6) August 1, 1994 Call for papers, submission deadline IEEE International Symposium on Requirements Engineering (RE '95) 27-29 March 1995 York, England Contact: pamela@research.att.com (see article 0189, INFOSYS v1 n23) August 6-9, 1994 17th Information systems Research seminar In Scandinavia (IRIS 17) "Quality by Diversity in Information Systems Research" Sy|te Conference Centre, Finland Contact: iris17@rieska.oulu.fi (see article 0075, INFOSYS v1 n9) August 8-19, 1994 Sixth European Summer School in Logic, Language and Information Copenhagen Business School, Frederiksberg Denmark For program and other information: FTP 129.142.156.11; userid = ESSLLI94; get ESS94.DOS localfilename (localfilename means path and filename on your pc/workstation); bye Contact: charp/id@cbs.dk August 10-13, 1994 Info and Technology Mgmt Group of the Assoc of Mgmt (ITMGAM '94) 12th Annual Conference Adolphus Hotel, Dallas, Texas Contact: lauralu@vax86.liunet.edu August 10-13, 1994 Computer Science Group of the Assoc of Mgmt Annual Conference Dallas, Texas USA Contact: 72430.3710@compuserve.com August 11-13, 1994 IFIP WG 8.2 Conf on Info Tech and New Emergent Forms of Organization Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA Contact: ojelanki@ub.cc.umich.edu (see article 0159, INFOSYS v1 n18) August 12-13, 1994 Academy of Mgmt, Tech and Innovation Mgmt Doctoral Student Consortium Loews Anatole, Dallas, USA Contact: gattiker@hg.uleth.ca August 13, 1994 Academy of Mgmt, MIS Camp (Jnr Faculty Consortium) Loews Anatole, Dallas, USA Contact: cbeath@mail.cox.smu.edu August 28 - September 2, 1994 13th IFIP World Computer Congress "Computer and Communications Evolution - The Driving Forces" Hamburg, Germany August 29, 1994 Call for papers, submission deadline Diffusion Interest Group in Information Technology (DIGIT) Workshop December 17, 1994 Vancouver, British Columbia Contact: mary@cfrvm.cfr.usf.edu (see article 0105, INFOSYS v1 n12) August 29-31, 1994 Concurrent Engineering: Research and Applications (CE 94) "A Global Perspective" Pittsburgh, PA, USA Contact: paul@ctc.com (see article 0147, INFOSYS v1 n18) August 30, 1994 IFIP WG8.4 Workshop The International Office of the Future: A Problem Analysis IFIP World Congress (August 28 - September 2, 1994) Hamburg Germany Contact: bots@sepa.tudelft.nl August 31, 1994 Call for papers, submission deadline Decision Support Systems: An International Journal Special Issue on Model Formulation: Theory, Process, Support Systems Contact: sen@tamvm1.tamu.edu (see article 0123, INFOSYS v1 n14) August 31, 1994 Call for papers, submission deadline The Journal of Management Systems (JMS) Special Issue on Leadership in the Context of Technological Change Contact: klenke@urvax.urich.edu (see article 0151, INFOSYS v1 n17) August 31 - September 2, 1994 BCS Specialist Group on Information Systems Methodologies (ISM) Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh Contact: nimal@uk.ac.hw.cee September 5-7, 1994 2nd All-Ireland Conference on the Teaching of Computing Dublin City University, Dublin Ireland Contact: cticomp@uk.ac.ulster.ujvax September 5-9, 1994 East-West Conference Information Technology Design International Centre for Scientific and Technical Information Moscow, Russia Contact: a.j.h.lucas-smith@open.ac.uk September 9, 1994 Call for papers, submission deadline 1995 Office Systems Research Association Reengineering for Emerging Technologies March 10-12, 1995 Las Vegas, Nevada Contact: fac_cbilbrey@vax1.acs.jmu.edu (see article 0190, INFOSYS v1 n23) September 12-16, 1994 Decision Support - 2001 Toronto, Canada Contact: dss2001@pnfi.forestry.ca, dss2001@ccit.arizona.edu September 12-16, 1994 European Remote Sensing and Geographic Info Systems Conference Boat Cruise on the Vulgar River, Russia Contact: elgyj@aston.ac.uk (see article 0120, INFOSYS v1 n14) September 20-22, 1994 Fourth International Conference Information Systems Development "Methods and Tools, Theory and Practice" Bled (Slovenia) Contact: isd@fov.uni-mb.si September 26-28, 1994 Second SISnet Conference Barcelona, Spain Contact: valor@iese.es September 27-29, 1994 Australasian Conference on Information Systems (ACIS'94) Melbourne, Australia Contact: jkyoung@ponderosa.is.monash.edu.au (see article 0188, INFOSYS v1 n23) September 28-30, 1994 4th International Working Conference on Dynamic Modelling and IS Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands Contact: a.verbraeck@is.twi.tudelft.nl September 29-30, 1994 MCC's Second Annual PartnerMart "Partnering in the Information Age: Promoting Applications, Cooperation and Growth" Austin Convention Center, Austin, Texas Contact: partner@mcc.com October 1, 1994 Call for papers, submission deadline Organizations and Information Systems Workshop (OASIS'94) 17 December 1994 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Contact: crowston@umich.edu (see article 0122, INFOSYS v1 n14) October 5-7, 1994 5th Annual Conf of the International Information Management Assoc Las Vegas, Nevada Contact: schuldt@vaxa.cis.uwosh.edu October 10, 1994 Call for papers, submission deadline SIGCPR 1995 (ACM SIG on Computer Personnel Research) "Supporting Teams, Groups, and Learning Inside and Outside IS" April 6-8, 1995 Nashville, Tennessee, USA Contact: olfmanl@cgsvax.claremont.edu (see article 0149, INFOSYS v1 n17) October 16-19, 1994 Symposium on Methodologies for Intelligent Systems (ISMIS'94) Charlotte, North Carolina USA Contact: mzemanko@mitre.org October 22-26, 1994 ACM 1994 Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work "Transcending Boundaries -- People, Places, and Time." Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA Contact: cscw94@cs.unc.edu October 27-28, 1994 Third Biennial Conference on Participatory Design (PDC'94) Chapel Hill, North Carolina Contact: barbk@world.std.com October 28-30, 1994 Information Systems Education Conference (ISECON '94) Louisville, Kentucky Contact: cohene@email.enmu.edu October 31, 1994 Call for papers, submission deadline Executive Information Systems (EIS) Special issue of the Journal of Decision Systems Contact: courbon@galaxie.int-evry.fr (see article 0191, INFOSYS v1 n23) November 11-13, 1994 Ethics in the Computer Age Conference Days Inn - Airport Road, Gatlinburg, Tennessee Contact: jkizza@utcvm.utc.edu November 15, 1994 Call for papers, submission deadline Computer Standards and Interfaces Special issue on formal methods and standards Contact: haim@cc.bellcore.com (see article 0152, INFOSYS v1 n17) November 29 - December 2, 1994 3rd International Conf on Info and Knowledge Management (CIKM'94) Gaithersburg, Maryland Contact: adam@adam.rutgers.edu November 30, 1994 Call for papers, submission deadline Cross-Cultural Issues and Implications for End User Computing Special issue of the Journal of End User Computing Contact: ravjagg@ube.ubalt.edu (forthcoming in INFOSYS) December 5-7, 1994 IFIP/SQI International Conf on Software Quality and Productivity "Theory, Practice, Education and Training" City Polytechnic of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Contact: ismatlee@cphkvx.cphk.hk December 5-9, 1994 Tenth Annual Computer Security Applications Conference Orlando, Florida Contact: vreed@mitre.org December 14-17, 1994 International Conference on Information Systems "Improving Productivity and Adding Value through Information Systems" Vancouver, British Columbia Canada Contact: shuff@novell.business.uwo.ca December 31, 1994 Call for papers, submission deadline Journal of the American Society for Information Science Special Issue on Electronic Publishing Contact: rpeek@vmsvax.simmons.edu (see article 0108, INFOSYS v1 n12) January 3-6, 1995 Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - HICSS 28 Maui, Hawaii Contact: edennis@uga.cc.uga January 5-6, 1995 MetaCASE 95 University of Sunderland, UK Contact: cs0psm@orac.sunderland.ac.uk January 5, 1995 Call for papers, submission deadline Third Decennial Conference Computers in Context: Joining Forces in Design August 14-18, 1995 Aarhus, Denmark Contact: bodker@daimi.aau.dk (see article 0095, INFOSYS v1 n11) January 9-11, 1995 International Conference on Information Technology and Socio-Economic Development: Challenges and Opportunities" Marriott Hotel, Cairo, Egypt Contact: m.odedra-straub@gaia.comlink.apc.org March 1, 1995 Call for papers, submission deadline The American Sociologist Special Issue on Electronic Communication and Sociology Contact: socbrent@mizzou1.missouri.edu (forthcoming in INFOSYS) March 15, 1995 Call for papers, submission deadline The Information Systems/Operations Research Interface Special issue of the Annals of Operations Research Contact: mgtrames@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu or mgmtrao@acsu.buffalo.edu (forthcoming in INFOSYS) March 20, 1995 Call for papers, submission deadline International Workshop on Temporal Databases September 17-18, 1995 Zurich, Switzerland Contact: jclifford@stern.nyu.edu (forthcoming in INFOSYS) \EOA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * INFOSYS is an electronic newsletter for faculty, students, and * * practitioners in the field of Information Systems. INFOSYS * * publishes news items, requests for assistance, announcements of * * professional meetings and conferences, position notices, a * * calendar of upcoming events, comments on recent publications, * * abstracts of papers that authors are willing to share, and other * * items of interest to the Information Systems community. * * * * INFOSYS is published biweekly, more frequently if volume requires * * it. INFOSYS operates as an electronic mailing list on listserv * * software at American University in Washington, DC. The editor is * * Dennis W. Viehland (d.viehland@massey.ac.nz). * * * * To subscribe to INFOSYS send the following one-line electronic * * mail message to listserv@american.edu (Internet) or listserv@auvm * * (Bitnet): subscribe infosys yourfirstname yourlastname * * (e.g., subscribe infosys John Smith). You will receive a welcome * * letter that will tell you more about INFOSYS and listserv. * * * * Guidelines for submitting articles to INFOSYS are published in * * the Welcome message each new subscriber receives (or e-mail "GET * * infosys welcome" to listserv@american.edu). Send articles to * * infosys@american.edu or d.viehland@massey.ac.nz. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *