Download research & development at Heidelberg

tent specifications. Printready print production architecture – RIP, Adobe, licenses and
screens – applications with content management, Signa Station and software infrastructure –
test and documentation – integration of machine software – in total more than 200 software
developers, each of whom works on many lines of code every day that depend on other lines
of code that are in the process of being changed, rewritten or tested.
Precise definition of the characteristics and interfaces is therefore essential for any development. When this has been completed, the software developers can begin to implement and
integrate the system, i.e. to “plug” everything together. In figurative terms, that represents
600-800 pages of thick legal volumes jam-packed with rules and regulations.
A lengthy test program has to be run to check whether the lines of code actually fit together.
Each software module is tested individually. Then tests are run to verify if this software module functions with the other modules in the particular product. Scripts are created for these
tests, in which automatic test routines are called and run automatically during the night. The
next morning, the developer looks at the log, identifies bugs and rectifies them. Does the
software set up the job? Does it operate the RIP? Does the processor crash during trapping?
In the regular interoperability tests, which represent a kind of internal certification, a simulation is run to verify that the software interacts correctly with other products. Is job data transferred? Does this data activate the desired presettings in the press? Can a replacement plate
be produced using CtP and the data in the event of a mechanical error in the printing plate?
The departments have to supply their software package by the defined deadline. A development team made up of Heidelberg and Kiel employees is responsible for integration in the
Prinect workflow. In the field test (beta test), the new versions are used in practical operation.
All the development steps are entered in a document which is used as a basis for creating
the user manual, online help documentation, service manual and instructions for the customer.
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