Designer's Workbench: Philosophy

The most significant challenge facing the computer industry over the next decade is to increase the productivity of those who use the computers. Until now, the end users have relied primarily upon programmers to develop their applications. The continual reduction in hardware costs is producing such a proliferation of computers that it will not be possible to hire and train enough programmers to develop all the software needed. One approach to resolve this difficulty is to provide an environment in which the programmer can be more productive. That is what has been done in the Programmer's Workbench * UNIX is a trademark of Bell Laboratories. 1757 version of the UNIX time-sharing operating system.1 Another approach is to develop a higher level language that makes it easier for the end user to instruct the computer to perform the operations required. This is the approach that most data-base management systems have taken by providing a simple query language for the user to specify what information is desired.2 Designer's Workbench (DWB) was designed so that the end users could perform most operations for themselves while providing an improved development environment for the application programmer. DWB provides a high-level language for the user of circuit designaids programs, thereby removing most tedious error-prone tasks that, in the past, have reduced the circuit designer's productivity. These design aids are a set of programs used in the design, fabrication, and testing of both printed wiring boards and integrated circuits.