A Framework for Integration of Hypermedia and CASE

Most current hyper-CASE systems place emphasis on how hypermedia functionality can be used in implementing CASE systems, with the hypermedia as a means of supporting the management of software life cycle documents in a non-integrated CASE environment. In this paper, we argue that hypermedia should be integrated with CASE in a seamless manner and must be able to support integrated CASE systems. A two-dimensional framework for hyperCASE systems is proposed. One dimension of the framework emphasises the distinction between the meta layer and data layer of information held within a hyper-CASE system. The other dimension classifies this information as being at a conceptual, intermediate, or presentation level. The notions of conceptual artifacts, presentation artifacts and artifact types are introduced. This framework is used as a basis to establish different types of integration between the hypermedia and CASE components of a hyper-CASE system. Three types of integration are identified, including local, global and hybrid integration. This framework provides the basis for analysing existing hyper-CASE systems and is useful for developing new hyper-CASE systems in the future. In this paper the framework is used to analyse an existing hyper-CASE system in a case study.