# Softbench

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Plug-in Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

**HP Softbench** was one of the first plug-in [Integrated Development Environment](/source/Integrated_development_environment) ([IDE](/source/Integrated_development_environment)) tool based on the [UNIX](/source/UNIX) operating system, UNIX tools and the [X Window System](/source/X_Window_System).

The main ideas were:

- Tools and data can reside on many different systems across the network

- Tool communication using a Broadcast Message Server

- Common user interface

- Integrated help facility

- Tool Slots

- Encapsulator: tool for encapsulate any CASE tool into a Tool Slot if it supports standard I/O.

## History

SoftBench was released in 1989 and presented in the June 1990 [HP Journal](/source/HP_Journal).[1] It was an early adoption of some of the [IDE](/source/Integrated_development_environment) ideas that are common today in well known IDEs like [Eclipse](/source/Eclipse_(software)).

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Cagan90_1-0)** Cagan, Martin R. (June 1990). "The HP SoftBench Environment: An Architecture for a New Generation of Software Tools". *[Hewlett-Packard Journal](/source/Hewlett-Packard_Journal)*. **41** (3): 36–47.

- HP Softbench has reserved ports 6110-6111 in the [IANA list of port assignments](https://www.iana.org/assignments/port-numbers) [List of TCP and UDP port numbers](/source/List_of_TCP_and_UDP_port_numbers)

- Bark, R. (4 November 1991). ["HP SoftBench-support for distributed working"](https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/182074). *Architectures for Distributed Development Support Environments, IEE Colloquium on*. Architectures for Distributed Development Support Environments 1991. [Savoy Place](/source/Savoy_Place). pp. 7/1–7/5.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Softbench](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Softbench) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Softbench?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.