Flyer U127-0596
manufact.txt

Ada Used to Develop Manufacturing Process Supervisor

The Developer

Started in 1980, Delta Technologies dedicates itself to 
technical and industrial software engineering.  Its 
activities mainly include supplying real-time systems and 
services for industrial automation and meeting the needs of 
companies around the world who are involved in industries 
such as farming, chemistry, mechanics, electronics, 
construction, automobile, aeronautics, and nuclear.

The Manufacturing Process Supervisor

Delta Technologies recently released the last version of its 
manufacturing process supervisor, OSCAR II, which enables 
the control and management of every type of manufacturing 
process.  A real-time display , using OSF-Motif, provides 
data on the machines' condition and on the coordination of 
the overall process.  This feedback enables accurate control 
and analysis of current situations and trends.  OSCAR II 
also includes features that provide simulation and alarm 
management functions.  It has been designed to communicate 
with every type of automated machine, regulator, and data 
acquisition system through standard networks (Ethernet, Mod 
Bus) or specific protocols.

System Development

Following the Object-Oriented Programming method, the 
system was developed by using the Alsys AdaWorld compiler 
for the HP 9000/ series 400.  The project took two person-
years to complete. 90% of the application, including the 
real-time database of the system, has been developed with 
Ada.  The rest, the "Oscar Access library", which is a 
standard interface connecting OSCAR II to other kinds of 
production management software, was written in C.

Two major requirements had to be met:  first, OSCAR II 
had to meet the needs of a marketplace that uses an ever-
increasing diversity of platforms and operating systems to 
operate; and second, it had to deliver the highest level of 
safety in process control and the cheapest means for its 
maintenance, in order to meet the requirements of the 
complex manufacturing process.

Language Choice

"Ada is the only industrial language that meets these 
constraints," states Jean-Pierre Pellet, Technical Manager 
of OSCAR II.  And he adds, "Our application required a high 
level of safety, and Ada provided us with the rigor we 
needed to develop with high reliability."

Thanks to the Object-Oriented Programming method, Delta 
Technologies enjoyed the full benefits of Ada's readability 
and maintainability; the natural clarity of the language was 
a key factor in assuring reasonable maintenance cost.  At 
the same time, such a development method enabled developers 
to sharply curtail the integration phase.  Finally, because 
the Ada language is standardized, the portability of the 
application on current and future platforms was guaranteed; 
the port from HP to Micro VAX only needed a few numeric-type 
modifications.  In terms of the future, "It guarantees 
product longevity," points out Mr. Pellet.

Using Ada in the Future

Today, Mr. Pellet and his colleagues are very positive about 
their future with both Alsys and Ada; plans are under way to 
improve current OSCAR II functionality and to port the 
application on new hardware and operating systems.   In 
completing this task, Ada's modularity is expected to 
produce significant improvements and additional developments 
for minimal cost.  The company anxiously awaits Ada 95's 
object-oriented functionality.

For further information, contact:
Marie-France Mignon and Florence Lescroart
Alsys SA
29 Avenue Lucien Reni Duchesne
78 170 La Celle-Saint-Cloud
FRANCE
Tel:  + 33 30 78 17 17;  + 33 30 78 17 40;  + 33 30 78 17 48
Fax: + 33 39 18 26 80

(Reprinted with permission from Alsys, Inc.)


********************** 
The views, opinions, and findings contained in this report are those of 
the author(s) and should not be construed as an official Agency 
position, policy, or decision, unless so designated by other official 
documentation.

Copyright 1996.  IIT Research Institute.  All rights assigned to the 
U.S. Government (Ada Joint Program Office).  Permission to reprint this 
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