ACTION DESIGNER
                                 As of 3/1/90

        Dear Friend:

        Thanks for downloading Action Designer (AD).  Like
        me, you must be interested in developing better systems
        and getting some help from the computer while you are at
        it.  I've been studying, using and developing systems 
        methodologies for over 20 years.  Improvements have come
        slowly but steadily.  The trick has been to adopt only
        the truly useful techniques and to avoid getting caught
        up in the latest fad.

        A few years ago, I came across Action Diagrams.  I used
        them in my consulting practice with great results.  Here
        is why I think they worked for me:

                They helped me to organize and structure
                my thinking.

                Action diagrams were easily understood by 
                my non-technical clients.

                They could be used at whatever level of 
                detail a project required.

                The diagrams evolved as my understanding of
                the problem at hand evolved.  
                
                Using them, I could design incrementally and 
                non-linearly.  That is, I could iterate a
                design and move around in it embellishing it
                as it evolved.

                They produced RESULTS!

        So, I'm sold on Action Diagrams.  Not as my only tool; I
        use data flow diagrams, structure charts, data dictionaries
        et al as required.  The question is, should you be sold on
        Action Diagrams?  Well, that's the whole idea behind Shareware.  
        Now you can try Action Diagrams with little or no financial 
        exposure.

        Commercial Action Diagram packages are $500 and up (although
        I've heard rumors of one that is less expensive).  The
        problem with them is that I couldn't influence their design
        (there never was an update to the well known $500 package
        I bought) and they showed no signs of growing into more
        powerful, affordable tools.

        That brings us to AD.  At a minimum, AD does what the 
        commercial packages do more or less.  Beyond that, I think
        there are some desireable improvments including the user
        interface, multiple printer support, support for object
        oriented analysis, code generation facilities and more.

        Most exciting, I have in mind a number of major extensions
        to AD (read the Future Directions chapter of the manual
        for details).  They include:
        
                Hyper Links       Hypertext like facilities
                Hot Links         Links to logic and code modules
                Data Dictionary   Closely coupled data dictionary
                Other Diagrams    Generation of data flow diagrams 
                                  from Action Diagrams
                and more, more, more.

        I'd like to work with you to define how these should work.
        And, since there are undoubtedly other enhancements that you 
        can think of, I need your inputs as well.  A caution: I'm
        not suggesting an "everything but the kitchen sink" approach;
        maybe AD will become a family of tools.

        I think that this is a really good CASE tool.  I hope that
        you agree.

        Now, a word about my motivation.  Sorry to say I'm not a
        believer in Freeware where significant software is concerned.
        I don't mind sharing the fruits of my labor when the effort
        is nominal.  But, AD represents a substantial amount of work 
        and if you are using it, you are probably doing so in your work.

        As a collegue, you know how hard you have to work to develop
        a sophisticated piece of software.  You will understand then
        that I expect you to register AD if you use it.  I keep the
        registration fee low and offer quantity discounts to encourage
        registration.  I'm offering significant premiums in the form
        of enhanced features, upgrades and support.

        The American software industry thrives on innovation.  It
        was built by a lot of little guys with creative ideas.  Big
        companies don't provide much of that.  Unfortunately, the
        cost of entry into the software market dominated by large
        firms is prohibitive for most - certainly my company.  However,
        innovation and effort must be rewarded or the innovators will
        go elsewhere.

        The bottom line is, register and I'll work with you to create
        a genuinely special tool.  What's in this for you is simple. 
        You will get a professionally designed and implemented tool
        for very little money.

        By the way, you can register with your credit card (VISA and
        MasterCard) by phone or mail.

        I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

        Sincerely,

        Lou Barnett
        MetaLogic Corporation
        (805) 529-4498