Recently we engaged with a small company with strong mechanical and industrial plant backgrounds. The company provides equipment to semiconductor and other industries to control temperature, flow, resistivity, and other parameters. They needed to revise some software for a custom application.
Our Programmers were able to upgrade and add new features to the product. The embedded microcontroller on which the software ran had become obsolete. Voler engineers helped select a new microcontroller that is guaranteed by the vendor to have at least a 5 year life, minimizing costly changes in the future.
Voler Systems not only delivered working object code, we delivered professional source code control that was appropriate for a small company. The previous consultant had left them with many version of code that were not organized and not backed up. The code is used on systems that are customized for each customer, so there are many versions. We provided an organized way to keep track of the code, and we have our own off-site backup. Since the company is small, and only two people will every modify code, it did not make sense to create an elaborate system to control software. By using our own system of code control, we provided a way to track versions and to avoid the loss of the source code.
Source code control is the management of changes to code. Specific changes or revisions are identified by number or letter codes. This allows tracking changes to the code. The code needs to be stored on a server where everyone who uses the code can access it, and while one person is modifying it, no one else can check in a new version of the code.
Programmers do not just write code, although that is certainly a major aspect of their duties. They also define user and system interaction between users and equipment. In the end, all these tasks enhance the usability and value of your products or services.