Project No.: 5003-052209 01.03.98 - 31.12.99

Project leader: Dr. Heinz Lienhard, IvyTeam, Zug
e-mail: ivyteam@access.ch

Name of project: IvyBeans - bridge to Virtual Software House and the project WISE

Partners: Prof. Hans-Jörg Schek, Institut für Informationssysteme, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at Zurich (ETHZ)

Funding: Sfr 262,627.-

Summary:
As part of the Virtual Software House integrated research project of the first SSP ICS first series (5003-045326) and the subproject A Frame for Networked Components (5003-045328), Ivyteam developed a new component tool for business process modelling and simulation. The aim of the present project continuation is to develop a component tool - "IvyBeans". Among other things, this tool can be used as the front end to project WISE (Workflow-based Internet Services, 5003-051341, series 2, of Prof. Schek, ETHZ). The present project also links IvyBeans with Virtual Software House (VSH, 5003-52210).

As a complementary project to VSH and WISE, IvyBeans has the following three goals:

1. Novel Web-based component system fully integrated into future software product catalogues;
2. Use of IvyBeans as a front end for WISE applications;
3. Very rapid development and deployment (via VSH) of first simple distributed applications using IvyBeans.

IvyBeans is a novel type of software component system based on event-controlled processes. It consists of two parts: a framework (IvyFrame) and an expandable number of components (IvyBeans). There are standard components and components that represent dynamic models of complete subsystems. The Frame can be used to put together more complex components or to network them on the basis of existing components. IvyBeans is entirely written in Java. IvyBeans and distributed applications over the Internet are strategic IvyTeam products.

Cooperation:
The IvyTeam company and the Competence Center Information and Communication Systems of ETHZ.