Application Development - The CIO's Guide to Oracle Products and Solutions - page 215

administrator, as that person would have the expertise and author-
ity to create or modify a database for use with the new or enhanced
application.
3. All systems use hardware and software. . A systems analyst has many
decisions to make. The first decision is to select the platform on
which to run this system: (a) PC only, (b) mainframe only, (c) cli-
ent/server (i.e., PC client and mainframe or workstation server), etc.
The analyst also has to decide whether or not to use any third-party
software (i.e., Excel, SAP, etc.) and may even have to decide on which
programming language and type of database to use.
4. All systems are written using programming languages . If the IT
(Information Technology) department is filled with COBOL pro-
grammers, it might not be a wise decision to decide to use Java. If Java
is mandatory, then the systems analyst has to plan for this by either
training existing staff or outsourcing the development effort to a con-
sulting firm. This information is contained within the requirements
document, often called the system requirements specification (SRS).
5. All systems should be designed using a methodology and proper docu-
mentary techniques . There are many developmental methodologies.
The two main generic categories are structured and object-oriented .
The tools and techniques surrounding these methodologies are part
and parcel of software engineering. A properly developed system is
carefully analyzed and then designed. The first step of this process
is the plan, and the next step is the SRS. The third step is the design
document. Finally comes implementation, testing, and then deploy-
ment. These are some of the main steps in the software-development
life cycle (SDLC).
Software Developer
I started out in this field as a programmer. In those days (several eons ago),
there were real boundaries between the different types of jobs one could
do. If you were a programmer, you didn't do analysis work and vice versa.
In fact, most analysts back then knew very little about programming.
That's all changed but, typically, you still start out as a programmer and
then the sky's the limit. A programmer is a person who knows one or more
programming languages (e.g., Java, C++, etc.). The programmer's job is to
read a programming specification, which is usually written by the systems
analyst, and then translate that specification into program code.