Blog Archive » Tools and Toolchains. In software development the phrase toolchain refers to a set of discrete tools linked in such a way that the output of one tool becomes the input for another tool. As wikipedia notes “A simple software development toolchain consists of a text editor for editing source code, a compiler and linker to transform the source code into an executable program, libraries to provide interfaces to the operating system, and a debugger.” The toolchain idea recurs in several work environments; in software development where code written in a text editor becomes an interactive program, in publishing where a series of notes and thoughts becomes text written in a word processor then transformed by typesetting and offset printing, and life science laboratories where discrete protocols are used to effect transformations in biological material.
The chain metaphor works, but the wrinkle in the metaphor is that at each link a transformation takes place. 1) Reqall 2) Tape-A-Talk 3) GorillaPod 4) If This Then That. The SAGE handbook of qualitative ...