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Updated to include rationale (sourced from bertrandmeyer.com, 13 July 2012)

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Author:halw
Date:2012-07-13T23:29:43.000000Z


git-svn-id: https://svn.eiffel.com/eiffel-org/trunk@1123 abb3cda0-5349-4a8f-a601-0c33ac3a8c38
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2012-07-13 23:29:43 +00:00
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documentation/current/eiffelstudio/eiffelstudio-reference/eiffel-information-system/index.wiki
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[[Property:title|Eiffel Information System]]
[[Property:weight|-2]]
[[Property:uuid|7e0394e1-cb31-fae3-79b6-9d1847ef8db7]]
==Introduction==
The Eiffel Information System (EIS) provides a unified mechanism for linking development objects - e.g., classes and features - of Eiffel systems with '''external''' information resources. External means information other than Eiffel program texts. Usually the tools associated with external resources are separate from Eiffel, such as web browsers. Examples of external information resources and possible corresponding external tools are:
* Resource: Web page -- External Tool: default web browser
* Resource: PDF document -- External Tool: Adobe Acrobat
* Resource: Microsoft Word document -- External tool MS Word
EIS is also intended to be the standard mechanism for obtaining help on Eiffel and EiffelStudio, replacing previous solutions. In that case, external tools may actually be Eiffel tools.
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Examples of incoming mechanisms include:
* For supported tools, selecting external information linked to an Eiffel developer object and having EiffelStudio open automatically and targeted to that object.
==Why use EIS==
EIS plays an important role in the Eiffel software development method. Eiffel's focus is software quality. One aspect of the Eiffel method that contributes to software quality is the '''Single Product Principle''' as described in the [[ET: The Software Process in Eiffel|Eiffel Tutorial]]: viewing the software as a single product which is expected to be refined, extended, and improved repeatedly.
The greatest part of the Single Product Principle is made possible by the seamless nature of the Eiffel method and the elegant design of the Eiffel language. Eiffel allows multiple views of the single software product that are appropriate to certain phases of development and readable by those fulfilling certain development roles. For example, potential reuse consumers use the '''contract''' views to explore class specification.
EIS augments this process by ensuring that any documents existing outside the software itself are closely linked to the software and vice versa. For example, if a an external software requirements document exists, say in PDF format, it is essential to record precisely associations between elements in the requirements document and the portion of the software text in which those elements are realized. Perhaps the requirements document contains a statement: "Whenever the tank temperature reaches 50 degrees, the valve shall be closed". In the software text, there will be some feature, for example, <code>monitor_temperature</code> in the class <code>TANK</code>, reflecting this requirement. The two elements should be linked, in particular to ensure that dependencies appear clearly, and that any change in either the requirements or the code triggers the corresponding update to the other side. This is what EIS provides.