Revolution as a Prototyping Tool

Fri Jul 29 12:15:21 EDT 2005

Yes, a great article!

I have used RunRev for prototyping too, however I took it a step 
further and actually generated the code to build the objects in an 
external environment, e.g. I write a RunRev Script to output 
Object/Resource definitions and also to generate .h and .c/.cpp files 
that could be used in a C/C++ application.

All the Best
Dave

>Dear Thomas,
>
>Thanks for sharing this great "tutorial" with all of us !
>
>Action: Do you allow me to translate your work to the French dialect 
>? If yes, do you allow me to specify, as the credits of the input "© 
>2005 Thomas J McGrath III" (or any other legal © mention you prefer 
>to see there, alike your company name)  at the bottom of the 
>translation. If yes, do you allow me to insert this final french 
>issue + your © credits as a dedicated pages of my company site, 
>something alike <http://www.sahores-conseil.com/revprotoway.html> ?
>
>In any way, thanks again. A great work and communication tool !
>
>Best Regards,
>
>
>Le 28 juil. 05 à 15:25, Thomas McGrath III a écrit :
>
>>Dear List Members,
>>
>>I wanted to share this document that I used when presenting 
>>Revolution to my company/client for consideration in our 
>>prototyping work. Since this list is growing daily, I thought there 
>>might be a few people who would find it useful.
>>
>>Revolution as a Prototyping Tool
>>
>>*    Prototyping is a process of design and development used to 
>>help model the specifications and requirements for a new 
>>application.
>>*    Once a prototype has been developed it can be quickly moved to 
>>alpha or sometimes even beta without dedicating significant 
>>resources and time.
>>*    The nature of the Revolution tool is that it is designed for 
>>rapid development of a graphic/data interface by minimizing the 
>>need to write complex machine level code, using instead English 
>>like syntax, coding shortcuts and object (graphical) libraries and 
>>outputting to any supported OS.
>>*    Using Revolution as a prototyping tool allows the developer to 
>>quickly assemble an elegant prototype. Revolution incorporates the 
>>use of genuine cross platform support without the need for device 
>>or OS specific code compilation, and uses industry standard coding.
>>
>>Proof-of-Concept Development Challenge
>>Commercial realities dictate that there are several key elements to 
>>consider when developing a software solution for a client. These 
>>are even more pertinent at the prototyping stage of a project. Some 
>>of these elements may not be considered as essential at the 
>>prototype stage, but they facilitate the acceptance of the final 
>>application to the client.
>>
>>*    Fit for Purpose
>>The prototype application should effectively demonstrate the 
>>client's needs and requirements. How does one procure the 
>>satisfaction of expectations without exhaustive research into the 
>>underlying issues? This is possible by using a software prototyping 
>>tool, which allows a concept to be modeled, rapidly aiding in the 
>>evaluation of a design.
>>*    Time restrictions
>>In an ideal world one would choose to slow the process down and run 
>>it through deliberate design and development cycles. However, 
>>available resources invariably dictate this process. The choice of 
>>Revolution as a prototyping tool allows us to make maximum use of 
>>the time at our disposal.
>>*    Financial constraints
>>Optimally, this type of software should provide the capability to 
>>envision and test such a model using local data and resources 
>>without a major investment in database server(s), network hardware 
>>and software, and the major software engineering costs.
>>*    Moving Target
>>Many clients are not entirely sure of the exact nature of the 
>>product they require. They may also redefine their requirements 
>>based on outside factors and additional functionality that we can 
>>offer. A prototyping tool has the functionality to address such 
>>fundamental alterations readily and easily.
>>*    Scalability
>>We should be able to demonstrate the scalable qualities of our 
>>proposed application with the prototype. Our client may not have 
>>made a final decision on the level of deployment at this stage. 
>>They may wish to retain the flexibility to investigate alternatives 
>>and additions before committing to a final strategy.
>>*    Real time alterations
>>Revolution allows the flexibility to make changes while prototyping 
>>with the client and is possible without the downtime incurred for 
>>recompilation.
>>*    Appearance
>>Revolution is presentable and has the look and feel of a finished 
>>product. While we are at the prototyping stage, we may still be 
>>selling the concept to our client. The appearance of our prototype 
>>can become very significant, without minor visual anomalies drawing 
>>attention away from the salient issues.
>>*    Maintaining the Prototype
>>Our choice of Revolution as a prototyping tool should allow us to 
>>keep track of version histories and the alterations that we make to 
>>the application. Ideally we should be able to document the changes 
>>we make together with the client requests. We may also require the 
>>facility to control multiple developers working on the same 
>>project. Revolution allows for us to rapidly develop applications 
>>in any peer-to-peer environment.
>>
>>What Makes Revolution Ideal for Prototyping
>>Regardless of the application we are modeling, Revolution provides 
>>the tools that allow us to effectively create any prototype. 
>>Whether we need to create Internet, Intranet, database 
>>applications, with or without a SQL backend, Revolution is the 
>>answer. Applications prototyped in Revolution cover just about 
>>every market segment.
>>
>>Developing prototypes using Revolution significantly reduces the 
>>time we spend creating our applications. This is due to the 
>>features and tool sets that are made available to us within the 
>>product. Revolution embraces the main principles of practical 
>>object orientation. These features include the message hierarchy as 
>>well as code and object reuse. Revolution makes it extremely quick 
>>to produce any GUI. There is also an extensive set of shortcuts and 
>>plugins that cover just about everything from simple window 
>>creation to the handling of e-mails.
>>
>>Having one comprehensive tool that can be used for a multitude of 
>>needs eliminates the cost of having to purchase multiple 
>>applications for prototyping. The initial investment for Revolution 
>>is extremely competitive. This makes tight financial constraints 
>>inconsequential as the product and pricing is as good as and, if 
>>not better, than any prototyping tool currently available.
>>Revolution applications can be developed on any of the supported 
>>platforms including all flavors of Windows (95/98/NT/2000), Mac OS 
>>9.x and above, and the major Linux distributions. Revolution 
>>applications can be deployed on any or all of these platforms 
>>simultaneously with only minimal or no code changes.
>>
>>Sincerely,
>>
>>Thomas J McGrath III_______________________________________________
>>use-revolution mailing list
>>use-revolution at lists.runrev.com
>>Please visit this url to subscribe, unsubscribe and manage your 
>>subscription preferences:
>>http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-revolution
>
>
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>
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