Tannenbaum sees the corporate repository as the common communication source among all the institutional components and, thus, the foundation for an effective management information system. Linking good information engineering practices with CASE-based application development, the repository supports the development of new tools and the introduction of new technology. Provision of an accurate inventory of what applications exist, what they actually do, and how they relate to other applications is a primary function of the repository. “A repository should be the gateway between today’s scattered applications and tomorrow’s world of uniformly accessible and perhaps reusable application components” (p. xviii).

This substantial text is divided into five major sections: today’s models and their role in application development; the modeling environment; integrating models--the need for a bridge; the repository as bridge; and repository implementation. Each section is broken down into considerable detail, with good schematics and sample documentation. The reference list is arranged by broad subject area, and there is a detailed index.

People who want to learn more about CASE tools will find this book useful, as will those who are interested in the repository concept. Enough information is provided that anyone who wishes to set up a repository could work with this book to do so.