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XEROX
Information Technology Group
Systems Development Division
March 16, 1977
To: David Liddle, Wendell Shultz
From: Charles Irby
Subject: Common Software Preliminary Work Plan for 2Q77 - 2Q79
Filed on: CS-Plan.Mar-16-77
Keywords: Common Software, Work Plan, Manpower, Schedules, Diamond, Janus
Introduction
This memo constitutes a preliminary work plan for Common Software development for
2Q77 through 2Q79. Common Software is application software that is utilized by several
application areas and is centralized to ensure consistency and efficient coupling with Pilot
and to reduce redundancy. ' ,
This activity area is concerned principally with user interface facilities, data management
facilities, and' other utility packages.
Summary of Projects
This work plan covers the following projects:
o Specification of the user interface for the Diamond prototype system. This J:nay at times
include assistance in implementing the specified . user interface.
/' '-- ..._-- .-- . . . "- "~'"
-"--' ',-
o Assist in the specification of the user interface for Janus/OIS.
oSpecification and development of user interface software facilities for the Janus/OIS
Workstation.
o Specification and development of djl~a managem~I1_L-softw_~r.~ _facil!Jies fQrJalllls/QIS,
including the implementation of some standard data types.- , - ' - - -
o Specification and developmen t of other commonly used software packages, such as
storage allocators, as the need arises.
o Specification and deveiopment of user tramlng materials and techniques for all tests
sponsored by SOD for Janus/OIS. This includes any software needed to support on-line
help aids.
These projects are discussed in morc depth in the following sections.
XEROX
PRIVATE
DATA
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User Interface
One of the most important aspects of Janus/OIS is its user interface. It is vital to the
success of Janus/OIS that the user perceive it as a coherent system. This means that the
user must be able to apply learning experiences in one application environment to others.
He must be able to predict system behavior based on past experience. To this end a t
centralized set of user interface facilities will be constructed. The work that is to be done
in this area consists of the following:
o Collaborate with the application designers and others with expertise in user interface
design to help specify user interfaces for the applications, ensuring consistency among
them. A principal goal is to achieve system coherence.
o Specify user interfaces for the Diamond prototype system. This includes specification
of the Early Bird user interface, in collaboration with the Applications Sof~ware Group..
o Design and implement a set of software facilities to be used by the applications in
implementing the specified user interfaces. Included is a software interface to the display
and user input devices.
o Monitor feedback on the user interface software facilities and improve and maintain
them as needed.
o Implement a help facility for users. supplying the data base on which it is based. This
may be subsequently modified by OSD training personnel.
o Train the users during all tests sponsored by .SDD. (see test schedule below).
o Work with the Functional Test Group and the OSD Human Factors group to define
user tests to determine user's ability to grasp concepts and presentations. In some cases,
write the code to support these tests. In some cases, it may be necessary to conduct our
own tests if some critical decision depends on the test results.
Data Management
The data management facilites allow separately developed applications to share data objects
within the Janus/OIS file system. Given the expected longevity of the OIS, it is vital that
this area be given much attention -- data objects must be handled in a general enough
framework to allow for inevitable changes during the lifetime of Janus/OIS. It must allow
for different implementations of objects, based on their size, storage medium. and so
forth. It must allow applications that are built by separate people at different points in
time to share objects in such a way that the object implementation could change in some
ways without causing source changes in the using applications.
The software facilities to be provided offer interfaces and implementations for directories
(map user actions into Pilot file identifiers). documents, printable forms of documents,
streams (a sequential access mechanism), and so forth.
The interested reader is referred to section 4.4 of the Pilot; 01 S Control Program:
Concepts Gnd Facilities document.
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Other Software packages
The Common Software activity will also produce other common application packages as
desired. Examples include general storage allocation packages and perhaps common error
handling procedures. These packages will be negotiated with applications groups as needed.
Strategy Summary
The user interface and data management activities will have as an ultimate focus Janus
executing on DO. Much of the software will be developed and tested within the Diamond
Alto context during 1977. however. Diamond provides an existing framework that is a
prototype of the Janus system (a version of Diamond will be used for Early Bird) and
allows an early implementation of the facilities. In the course of this Alto implementation,
internal specifications will be produced. Toward the end of 1977 t.he Janus-1 functional
specification will have been produ<;ed and the ideas that were implemented and used within
Diamond wiH have been shaken down to the extent that accurate user interface and data
management software functional specifications can be produced and a DO implementation
can be derived from the running Alto software.
It is assumed that the first quarter of 1978 will be used for recoding some of the software
developed within Diamond and integrating Diamond with an initial release of Pilot on
DO. Pieces of Pilot will be developed during 1977 within the Mesa runtime context and on
stand-alone DO's/Drs. Pilot Functional Specs are assumed to be firm by 9/77. After this
integration has been accomplished. the resulting system will serve as the basis for Janus-I