Adopting object-oriented technology: A case study

Interest in object orientation has surged in the last couple of years. A considerable number of groups have evaluated the technology; some have produced prototypes, and an increasing number have developed applications. A few groups have built significant applications frameworks, most notably the SPIRIT application framework developed by Shell Services in Houston. There are now nascent attempts to define a standard for object-oriented infrastructures with the Petrotechnical Open Software Corp. (POSC) community. The Petroleum Science and Technology Inst. (PSTI) was one of the early adopters of this technology within the E and P industry. PSTI has been constructing a basin modeling toolbox using object-oriented technologies for the last 6 years. This paper introduces the techniques, describes their use of the technology within the Hedera project, and outlines their experience of the suitability of the techniques for use within the E and P industry.