Application of modern computer technology to EPRI [Electric Power Research Institute] nuclear computer programs

Many of the nuclear analysis programs in use today were designed and developed well over a decade ago. Within this time frame, tremendous changes in hardware and software technologies have made it necessary to revise and/or restructure most of the analysis programs to take advantage of these changes. As computer programs mature from the development phase to being production programs, program maintenance and portability become very important issues. The maintenance costs associated with a particular computer program can generally be expected to exceed the total development costs by as much as a factor of two. Many of the problems associated with high maintenance costs can be traced back to either poorly designed coding structure, or ''quick fix'' modifications which do not preserve the original coding structure. The lack of standardization between hardware designs presents an obstacle to the software designer in providing 100% portable coding; however, conformance to certain guidelines can ensure portability between a wide variety of machines and operating systems. This report presents guidelines for upgrading EPRI nuclear computer programs to conform to current programming standards while maintaining flexibility for accommodating future hardware and software design trends. Guidelines for development of new computer programs are also presented. 22 refs., 10 figs