VSI held the key to creating stable software and it wasn t even a part of VSI s marketing message. An examination of VSI s internal procedures revealed that VSI developed its software without the benefit of a formal QA software testing group. The developer testing that resulted in Omega software releases did not appear to be subject to the same transient errors that plague the software industry. The key to the Omega software was the use of a new programming technology that was immune to many sources of transient program failure. The Omega software made use of a patented run-time kernel, the Willie kernel, to produce CycleFree software.
Conventional software is created with many objects that can communicate with one another.
When there is a cycle in this communication sequence, a potential source of transient program error is introduced. This new programming methodology removes the cycles from the software, resulting in more stable program applications. Dick Mays, VSI s Chief Technical Officer, held the patent for the Willie kernel in a privately held Texas corporation, ACIS . ACIS had licensed the kernel for use by VSI in the development of the Omega. A benchmark of this development effort revealed the methodology to have significant merits.