ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the architecture of such an improved computer-aided control engineering (CACE) environment and specific needs, design considerations, and implementation issues. Implementing the GE MEAD CACE Environment thus entailed the integration of commercial CACE packages under a Supervisor which coordinates the execution of these packages with an advanced user interface, a database manager, and an expert system shell. The implementation of a modern CACE environment can then be accomplished by providing a “shell” for existing software rather than starting from the foundations of numerical analysis and algorithms. Despite the importance of the UI to the acceptance and success of a CACE package, user-interface considerations have often played a secondary role in their design. Rigorous database management requirements for CACE were presented in Ref. A primary goal in designing a “user-friendly” CACE environment is to create a user interface that supports control engineers with widely different levels of expertise in using CACE tools.
