From: lacey@egr.msu.edu (Mark M. Lacey)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Project planning tool for X Window System available via FTP
Date: 27 Jan 93 18:23:13 GMT
Organization: Michigan State University
NNTP-Posting-Host: frith.egr.msu.edu

Dear Netters:

I've seen a few requests for project planning tools here in
comp.software-eng, so I talked to a few classmates of mine from last
semester, and we've decided to make the tool we wrote for our software
engineering class publicly available via FTP.  The tool supports
entering and saving of task information (task name, description,
relevent dates, etc.).  Project files can be loaded later for
consultation.  The tool graphically generates both PERT and Gantt
charts on screen, and has an option to generate LaTeX source for Gantt
charts and task sheets.  

All of the documentation generated for the project during the semester
(over 300 pages printed) is also distributed in LaTeX form.  This includes:

	Weekly Status Reports
	Project Plan
	Requirements Specification
	Preliminary Design
	Detailed Design
	Top-Level Code
	Testing Specification
	User's Manual
	Presentation Materials
	Final Report (with updated user's manual and addendums to
		other documents).


Xplan has been tested on Sun SPARCstation IPC's, IPX's, 1's, 1+'s,
2's, and 10's.  It requires the XView libraries and header files to
compile.

It is currently available at:

	cpsacs.cps.msu.edu (35.8.56.92)

in pub/xviewsrc, with the name xplan-1.0.tar.Z.

Please read README, INSTALL, and COPYING, all included in the tar
file.  As stated in README, this was a project for a class --- none of
the authors, and nobody else at MSU, has any intention of making
further modifications or bug-fixes.  Feel free to make your own
enhancements and bug-fixes, and make those publicly available (but
read COPYING, which contains the GNU GPL to understand what
circumstances you can distribute it in).

The user's manual to refer to is the one included in the final report.
I have a feeling there may be a missing .rs or .fig file here or there
(I'm not sure, but some omission of that sort might have occured).  In
any event, we all hope you find xplan useful.

				Mark M. Lacey
				Brian Gaubert
				Richard Malingkas
				Mike Marlow

The man-page follows:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
XPLAN(1)                 USER COMMANDS                   XPLAN(1)



NAME
     xplan - a project planning tool

SYNOPSIS
     xplan

DESCRIPTION
     xplan is a tool for project planning.  It allows the user to
     enter  task  information,  including  task dependencies, and
     generates both PERT and Gantt charts, along with task sheets
     for  the project being planned.  It must be run under some X
     Windows window manager.  To start xplan, just  type  'xplan'
     at  the  prompt.   There  are  no command-line options.  All
     interaction happens through  the  graphical  user  interface
     (GUI).


FILES
     xplan's project files end in the suffix .prj.

AUTHORS
     Brian Gaubert, Mark M. Lacey, Richard  Malingkas,  and  Mike
     Marlow

     xplan was  created  as  a  project  for  CPS  470  (Software
     Engineering)  at  Michigan  State  University, Fall semester
     1992, with Dr. Betty Cheng as instructor and  Gerald  Gannod
     as  TA.   It  is  distributed  under  the GNU General Public
     License (please see the file COPYING, which should always be
     distributed with the software).
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng