Tool kits for building enterprise-class distributed systems have been difficult to use. A start-up hopes to change all that. Gupta Corp. But building large-scale enterprise applications is something else again.
Developers use a series of visual tools to define data architectures and program flow.
Then the application can be partitioned among client and server platforms, and NatStar automatically generates code and compiles it on each platform. Unlike its rivals, NatStar also allows users to make minor changes to the application without recompiling it. Although individual modules are compiled from C code, users can modify the program's logical flow between modules at runtime. The system can also be set up to locate and install any modules when the program is run. But only the flow of logic, not elements such as the data architecture, can be easily changed, Castagna said.