Software development tools often force developers to organize their work according to the underlying file system, rather than the way they naturally think of their applications. SoftBench's Project Model removes this barrier to effective software development by allowing developers to organize their work in an intuitive fashion. The Project Model is a software development paradigm centered around a consistent set of Project Data and the integration built upon that data. The Project Tool brings the Project Model to life, consisting of the Project Build Tool, a Project/file browser, and the CodeAdvisor source code checker.
The Project Model organizes the various files (source code, documentation, and help files) that comprise a project and stores instructions for building the project. These instructions are contained in "configuration" files that are associated with projects. If something changes with respect to how the project is built, the only thing that has to be modified is the associated configuration file. The Project Model facilitates software maintenance by letting the developer interact with logical projects - the project automatically brings associated files along with it.
The Project Model also provides the "behind the scenes" data that links the SoftBench tools together. It delivers common data to the SoftBench tools and includes all the capabilities delivered from complicated "makefiles" while keeping the information transparent to the user. It's designed for flexibility, so your users can either take advantage of the capabilities of a project-based build or continue to use their familiar makefiles. Configuration files defining project-based builds are also readily available for reuse and redefinition.
HP Softbench provides a full-featured, graphical development environment that gives developers the flexibility to work the way they want to work. All tools that come with SoftBench, as well as partner products, are or can be integrated via well-defined interfaces.