The analysis and design of a fourth generation language.

Abstract

The enclosed thesis contains a study of the first three phases of the software engineering process as applied to the project of creating a fourth generation language (4GL). Initially, the 4GL is defined. Three levels of users are also defined -the software engineer who creates the 4GL, the application developer who uses the language to develop a specific application program, and the final enduser who operates the application program created with the 4GL. Included are schematic diagrams to show the logic flow of the language. Sample screens are also included to show the results of using the language for an application. The fourth generation language automates the code writing process with modules to handle menu systems, data entry, screen handling, keyboard handling, validity testing, error handling, data access and searches, report generation, printer control, file and index management, and internal data management of buffers, pointers, and system functions.