Chinese Software Architect from Paris
He created a famous design software PowerDesigner and has more than 50,000 genuine users worldwide, known as "Power-Designer founding godfather"; he also serves as the Chief Software Architect of this product in the famous international software company Sybase. The legend of this section written by Wang Xiaoyu has also become the pride of all Chinese programmers.
Since Wang Xiaoyu developed the first Windows version of PowerDesigner 1.0 in 1988, the latest version of PowerDesigner officially launched the latest version 10.0, powerful and complete, including Business Process, UML, Er Model, Enterprise Repository, etc. in 2004. Group features are currently famous software engineering modeling tools.
In order to assist China's large number of software users, software engineering technology is applied to actual development work, and Wang Xiaoyu invited China to tour the speech. After returning to Beijing from Shanghai Lecture, Wang Xiaoyu, who just took the plane, was interviewed in a meeting room of China's Grand Hotel.
Reporter: Please talk about the feelings after coming to China, doing technical lectures?
Wang Xiaotong: It should be said that people who focus on model design are much more than I imagined. Shanghai's audience has more than a hundred people. There are developers, and many teachers, everyone has shown a strong interest in software projects.
PowerDesigner also has many people in China, but generally only in database design, and how to use these features for UML design and model design, they also contact business process models, object-oriented models and data models, how to apply I am very interested in software engineering. However, this is also related to this area of information and books.
Software companies need to do a lot of work in raising development speeds and quality, and education in China may also start, and students studying software projects are only focusing on theory, and they need to be improved in terms of tool usage and teaching materials. Of course, it is much better than last year.
Reporter: Recently, PowerDesigner has launched a 10.0 version, what new features are there?
Wang Xiaotong: In the Gartner's report, PowerDesigner believes that the UML support is better than Rational Rose, the database model is better than Erwin, and we have done a lot of work in MDA, all of the features we support. One model can be arbitrarily converted to another model, such as transforming the UML model analysis model to the Java model, and also transforming the Java model into an EJB model. When the customer is a new template, you can generate the code that is suitable for you, the more the template, the less code written. And the data model and business process model can also be converted to each other. Automatically generate BPEL4WS (Business Directive Language for Web Services), mainly because there is a engine like BizTalk in the software.
The current PowerDesigner only supports analysis design, which will then support demand analysis, because this part also belongs to the analysis design. In the next product, you will also display the modifications of the design before you will display the modifications of the design. In addition, PowerDesigner will also contact the development tool, such as the version that supports Eclipse and Microsoft's Visual Studio .NET. In April this year, the Eclipse version will be launched. All product functions can be used in this development environment, and support for .NET development tools will also be launched soon, this year is a version embedded in Visual Studio .NET.
Reporter: Recently, MDA is also very concerned, how do you think?
Wang Xiaoyu: MDA and some of our functions are very similar, MDA mainly separates the analysis of the model and software development, and is not related to the platform. Whether the Java platform or .NET platform, first use the model to display all the functions and generate code according to different platforms. PowerDesigner also uses similar ideas to support many technologies on the market, such as supporting all databases. Reporter: What are the same and different from the TOGETHER product of PowerDesigner and IBM, and Borland's together products?
Wang Xiaotong: The same is that these products are based on object-oriented design, supporting UML. Different, PowerDesigner has three different models. We believe that because the customer's level is different, you can't use only one model. For example, the business is very understanding, but UML only learns nine maps to do business process design, so we can't force it to understand the UML model, different people Special models should be used. In addition, the database design is particulartitable, and these three directions are to be interoperable, such as doing the UML model should be related to the data model because the design needs to be stored in the database. In the report of Gartner, it also mentioned that these three models have more than 90% of the possibilities associated with two or three years.
Reporter: How did you develop Power-Designer software? What is it to have an internationally influential tool?
Wang Xiaotong: I am from Peking University to the first batch of students in France. After the Paris, I learned the automation major. From then on, I started to contact the computer and have interested in software.
After graduation, I work in SDP Technologies in French Software, which is mainly to other enterprises to develop database software. Therefore, it is often necessary to do the analysis design of the database, although some customers have developed some tools themselves, it is difficult to use. So, we feel that it is better to spend time to do a database design product, and the sharpener is not mistaken, but it can develop shortened time for future projects.
The earliest product is called S-Designor, because there is no reference product, you can only figure it out. The initial version is only for the company's internal use. After the completion of the second version, it feels very easy to use, the company's boss takes into account the company to sell this product in France and have achieved good results. Later, we took into account the French market very small, so it was sold in the United States, and the situation was not bad. In 1995, PowerSoft acquired us because their customers often designed the database when using PowerBuilder to develop. After a few months, Sybase acquired PowerSoft.
Reporter: PowerDesigner is a very good product, what qualities do you think of an excellent software designer needs?
Wang Xiaotong: First of all, we must understand the technology, design a new product, you need to know which new technologies can be used, if the product is not technically low, it is easy to be despised when compared to other products; the second is to understand the needs of customers. If the product does not meet the customer needs, it is difficult to get a recognition; the third is to innovate, develop software, and other products, there is no difference between other products, if you can't make the key points of attracting customers with other products Even if the technology is fine, customers don't necessarily buy your products.
I have spent a lot of time every day to learn about new technologies, do some tests to other new products, see what good ideas. In addition, the design is also designed, and the issues that have emerged in the development are treated. Sometimes I also write some code because I always lose my feelings. I have now every day to work. Reporter: How big is the development team of PowerDesigner? What important milestones or turning points are there in the development of the entire PowerDesigner?
Wang Xiaotong: Initially I only did it in all four years, I have done four versions in about four years. Later, in order to accelerate the progress, some people were recruited. When we were acquired, more than 20 people were, half of them were PowerDesigner products.
I think the first version is most important, because there is no software at that time, it is divided into two types, that is, separate the CDM (Conceptual Data Model) and PDM (Physical Data Model). This is a thought, although I don't know if the user can accept it, now it seems that the original decision is still correct.
In addition, it is a version 7.0 version of PowerDesigner. This version is rewritten with C , and the previous version is developed with C. When C just appears, because there is no good C compiler that you can't find it. Later, I used to develop in C to be fast, and I was ready to connect the business model and data model together, and the system architecture also needs to be rewritten. However, the 7.0 version is still not very complete, and it does not add all the functions until 7.5, and the function is complete, and the function is more complete.
Reporter: What software engineering is used in software development?
Wang Xiaoyu: We choose the software engineering method for our company as needed. We have made some simple software engineering, such as using PowerDesigner to design, write design documents with Word, and use Project to do project plan. In addition to artificial testing, it has also introduced automatic testing. We use WinRunner, automatic testing every night, which can greatly improve productivity, the more automatic testing, the higher the quality.
Reporter: You are Chinese, but PowerDesigner has an internationally influential development tool is born in France, why can't you have such tools and manufacturers in China?
Wang Xiaotong: I also talk about this with other friends. In fact, many people in China are high, but research and product development are still a considerable distance, and the domestic understanding of the international market is not enough, and the products developed are not necessarily suitable for the needs of the international market.
To change this situation, you may take a while. Now I think it should first pass the idea of software engineering to the students. They will learn how to develop and design software in software projects. In fact, this is also good for developers, because of the mastery design, its value is improved.
Reporter: How is the development of France? What is the software development atmosphere?
Wang Xiaotong: It should be said that France is still close to internationally, and France has done well in software education, and there is a lot of communication with the United States. France also has some famous software companies, such as our company, and BusinessObject and ILOG. Many big companies are developing their own software, they also know how to model tools. Moreover, in the French software company, as long as the size of dozens of people, there are generally those who are responsible for tracking software technology development, and they will learn how to use these tools to study which parts of the software engineering adapt to the needs of the Company. Our tracking technology is generally learned from online, magazines, etc., and France has magazines like "programmers", called "Programmez", and technologies such as "01 Informatique", the company will organize new technologies every week. Lecture. In France, there are a lot of companies specializing in training new technologies. The national law also stipulates that the company's technical training can also be taxed, which can account for 1% of turnover, so this also promotes the company's investment in technical personnel training.
I think France's atmosphere is more suitable for software, especially for the company to develop internal software very suitable, but to adapt to the products needed, it is still better than the United States, because French people dare to take risks. There are not many people who really dare to invest.
