Software development at webXcerpt is based on modern declarative programming techniques such as functional and logic (rule-based) programming, even when working with mainstream programming languages. Furthermore we work with domain-specific languages, allowing experts to express their domain knowledge in a way appropriate to the application area.
These techniques are particularly well-suited for the implementation of product configuration systems, an application area in which webXcerpt has a long experience.
Some of the components we developed for customer solutions are useful for a broader range of applications. Therefore we have made these components available as separate products and released some of them as open-source software. This way you do not only benefit from our experience but also from existing software, which speeds up projects and reduces development risks.
webXcerpt has provided consulting services and custom software development for customers in various industries: telecommunication equipment manufacturing, financial services, software vendors, automotive, public administration, and insurance.
Based on the experience from these projects, webXcerpt is particularly competent in the following areas:
We cover the full range of tasks in product-configuration projects: project management, tool selection, product modeling, model testing, system integration, roll-out, and training.
To streamline your product modeling process webXcerpt provides text-based modeling tools based on generic or application-specific concepts (see VClipse, COL, and ConfigModeler below).
We have worked with third-party configuration tools such as
Furthermore webXcerpt provides the JavaScript library openCPQ (see below) as a basis for configurators running completely in the browser.
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The concepts of an application domain are not always straight-forward to express in general-purpose programming languages. Often a language specifically designed for the application domain makes it easier to formulate and to understand these concepts, in particular for domain experts who are not programmers.
We use powerful tools like Xtext, which vastly reduce the effort for implementing parsers and Eclipse-based IDEs. This makes the development of domain-specific languages reasonable even for highly specialized application areas. Together with complementary tools such as the Eclipse Modeling Framework (EMF) for manipulating models and Xtend for generating code this forms a solid basis for model-driven software development.
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We have developed software for handling structured equity derivatives and foreign-exchange derivatives by front office and risk control. In particular we designed and implemented algorithms for calculating theoretical prices and sensitivities.
In many cases these calculations had to use computationally expensive Monte-Carlo simulations. To achieve a timely delivery of results we have parallelized the calculations in a high-performance computation cluster. To minimize operating costs we optimized the calculations on the mathematical, algorithmic, and technical level.
To support semi-automated trading we also provided approximated results in near-real time.
Read MoreBased on years of experience in product configuration and modeling webXcerpt has implemented some tools that are not specific to a particular customer. To support further development of these tools in a cooperative way we have released VClipse and openCPQ as open-source projects on Github.
VClipse is an integrated development environment (IDE) supporting textual product modeling for the SAP Variant Configurator (LO-VC and IPC). Dependency code uses SAP’s existing languages for constraints and procedures, whereas a new language VCML has been introduced for specifying objects.
Textual modeling with VClipse gives product modelers access to the modern tools that programmers have become used to. For example, the VClipse editor provides content assist, navigable cross references, quickfixes, tooltips, refactoring operations, or templates. Textual modeling allows to use state-of-the-art version-control tools and to communicate about models without relying on long lists of screenshots.
VClipse has been published as open-source software.
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COL is an integrated development environment (IDE) and a domain-specific language supporting textual product modeling for PROS Cameleon CPQ. This modeling IDE is an alternative to Cameleon CPQ's web-based modeling GUI.
Textual modeling with COL gives product modelers access to the modern tools that programmers have become used to. For example, the COL editor provides content assist, navigable cross references, quickfixes, tooltips, refactoring operations, or templates. Textual modeling allows to use state-of-the-art version-control tools and to communicate about models without relying on long lists of screenshots.
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ConfigModeler is a modeling environment for product-configuration rules. It supports the specification of product models in high-level languages based on application-specific concepts. This allows business users to understand and possibly edit models in their own language.
Modeling languages are designed for specific application domains. ConfigModeler translates high-level product models to objects and dependencies of an underlying product configuration framework such as the SAP Variant Configurator or PROS Cameleon CPQ.
This way ConfigModeler helps you to streamline your product-modeling process.
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With openCPQ you can implement product configurators in a highly flexible way.
In contrast to popular commercial configuration tools
openCPQ has been published as open-source software.
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For our development work we are using state-of-the art tools and procedures. We are familiar with:
