TRADITIONAL VS. RAD

RAD isn't just a pretty face -- there are some process differences between it an d traditional programming. The main difference is that, as with object-oriented development techniques, the process is not entirely sequential. In other words, key parts of development occur simultaneously.

In traditional programming, you start at the top and work your way down sequentially, from system analysis through design and programming, to testing, finally winding up with a product. If you have any changes, you make them at the appropriate stage of the process. These changes have a ripple effect through the rest of the process: Change the design, and you have to change the code and retest.

With RAD (rapid application development), you design and prototype the interface separately from designing and programming the rest of the system. This enables you to have two groups of engineers working in parallel and mostly independently. If you change the interface (which in traditional programming would necessitate reprogramming--possibly severely), you can simply relink it with the back-en d code. It may not even require any reworking of the systems design.