DEC FUSE: Building a Graphical Software Development Environment from UNIX Tools

DEC FUSE is an integrated programming environment for UNIX systems. It is an evolution of the FIELD environment developed at Brown University. To take advantage of the features of workstations developed during the 1980s, these environments were designed to provide graphical user interfaces for commands commonly used by UNIX software developers. DEC FUSE uses two methods to create an environment from smaller and simpler software components. These methods are sending messages between components and layering graphical interfaces on top of UNIX commands. DEC FUSE uses these methods to create an easy-to-use, integrated environment with more features than its individual components.