A minicomputer based data entry system recently developed at Bell Laboratories supports 73 transaction types and approximately 1000 fields. The user communicates with the system from a CRT terminal in field-by-field mode via a uniform interface. This paper presents a common design for the family of data entry programs that process the various types of transactions. The design is represented by a compact, orderly, and verifiable model to demonstrate the consistent program behavior. The model is formalized and proved correct to validate the design. The common model reduces design effort, provides design generality, enables code generation, and enhances ease of maintenance. The correctness proof eliminates high level design errors and their consequences. In the general area of business application, a common design lends itself to quickly mass produce components of a software product, and makes it easy to maintain them later.
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