Simplifying data integration: the design of the desert software development environment
Steven P. Reiss · 1996
This paper describes the design and motivations behind the Desert environment. The Desert environment has been cre-ated to demonstrate that the facilities typically associated with expensive data integration can be provided inexpen-sively in an open framework. It uses three integration mechanisms: control integration, simple data integration based on fragments, and a common editor. It offers a vari-ety of capabilities including hyperlinks and the ability to create virtual files containing only the portions of the soft-ware that are relevant to the task on hand. It does this in an open environment that is compatible with existing tools and programs. The environment currently consists of a set of support facilities including a context database, a fragment database, scanners, and a ToolTalk interface, as well as a