RDL(ID:867/rdl001)

Requirements and Development Language 

for Requirements and Development Language

Sperry Univac 1979

Non-procedural language which permits the user to describe all aspects of software development, from requirements specification through maintenance

Structures:
Related languages
PDL => RDL   Influence
PSL/II => RDL   Evolution of
PSL/PSA => RDL   Influence
References:
  • Heacox, H.C. "RDL: A Language for Software Development" view details Abstract: The Requirements and Development Language (RDL) is a non-procedural language which permits the user to describe all aspects of software development, from requirements specification through maintenance. RDL statements are used, incrementally, to build an integrated data base containing all data pertinent to the project. From this data base, standard reports can be generated to analyze requirements or design specification, to track problem areas, to produce documentation, to furnish up-to-date status information, and to ensure communication and coordination among all phases of the development process. RDL was developed, and is being used, as an internal tool for Sperry Univac Software Development.

    This paper describes RDL by discussing the constructs available in the language, and by presenting detailed examples from the area of design specification. In addition, some examples are presented which illustrate the flexibility of the integrated data base and the power of the report-generating facilities of the RDL Processor.
          in SIGPLAN Notices 14(09) Sep 1979 view details
  • Soong, Norman L. "An overview of an organized industrial research and development activity for language and language processors" pp62-63 view details DOI Abstract: A collection of papers is presented in this issue of SIGPLAN Notices to offer to the reader a glimpse of the research and development environment for language and language processors by a computing machine manufacturer. The research and development activities are directed by colttpany policies and marketing strategies, therefore it represents a different viewpoint from these activities under a different environment, such as in the universities. This collection serves to present a view of orqanized language and language processor developments as marketina-driven activities. To keep this collection sufficiently interesting to SIGPLAN Notices readers, the activities involving standard language and language processor developments are not included, such as FORTRAN, COBOL activities.
    The size of a company plays a crucial role in this type of effort. If it is a large company, in both physical and budgetary sense, then it becomes unfair to consider its efforts as industry representative due to its unrealistically immense monetary power. On the other hand, if it is a small company, then its futuristic outlook of language and language processors may be conjectured at best as speculative. It has been said in the past that a company must amass certain critical mass, or critical budget size, before it becomes feasible to undertake meaningful research and development activities, however limited scope it is. The size of Univac is considered appropriate that a proper representation on the subject of language and language processor can be made and be considered.as an industrial representative effort.
    This collection is broken into four parts, characterizing the major research and development efforts for language and language processors at Sperry Univac. Each part consists of multiple papers written by its key development people. All the systems described here are available now or in the near future.
          in SIGPLAN Notices 14(12) December 1979 view details