Neuron Data is an American software development company that was founded June 1985 by Alain Rappaport, Patrick Perez and Jean-Marie Chauvet. Their first product, ''Nexpert'', was a C-based, goal-oriented

backward chaining Backward chaining (or backward reasoning) is an inference method described colloquially as working backward from the goal. It is used in automated theorem provers, inference engines, proof assistants, and other artificial intelligence application ...

and data-driven

forward chaining Forward chaining (or forward reasoning) is one of the two main methods of reasoning when using an inference engine and can be described logically as repeated application of ''modus ponens''. Forward chaining is a popular implementation strategy f ...

expert system In artificial intelligence (AI), an expert system is a computer system emulating the decision-making ability of a human expert. Expert systems are designed to solve complex problems by reasoning through bodies of knowledge, represented mainly as ...

shell for the

Macintosh Mac is a brand of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 1984. The name is short for Macintosh (its official name until 1999), a reference to the McIntosh (apple), McIntosh apple. The current product lineup inclu ...

in 1985. The product was ported to the PC, one of the first programs to run under the then nascent Windows. Under the name Nexpert Object, it was further ported to

VAX VAX (an acronym for virtual address extension) is a series of computers featuring a 32-bit instruction set architecture (ISA) and virtual memory that was developed and sold by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in the late 20th century. The V ...

VMS and all flavors of

UNIX Unix (, ; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multi-user computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, a ...

workstation A workstation is a special computer designed for technical or computational science, scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by a single user, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating syste ...

s, as well as on

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

mainframe A mainframe computer, informally called a mainframe or big iron, is a computer used primarily by large organizations for critical applications like bulk data processing for tasks such as censuses, industry and consumer statistics, enterpris ...

s. In 1991, Neuron Data released a

GUI Gui or GUI may refer to: People Surname * Gui (surname), an ancient Chinese surname, ''xing'' * Bernard Gui (1261 or 1262–1331), inquisitor of the Dominican Order * Luigi Gui (1914–2010), Italian politician * Gui Minhai (born 1964), Ch ...

building tool named ''Open Interface''. The ''Open Interface Elements'' development tool won the 1995 Editor's Choice Award from X Journal for the ''Best Cross-Platform Toolkit''. Neuron Data produced a client-server software

development environment In software deployment, an environment or tier is a computer system or set of systems in which a computer program or software component is deployed and executed. In simple cases, such as developing and immediately executing a program on the same m ...

named ''C/S Elements'' in 1993. The following year, they released ''Smart Elements'', which incorporated support for business rules, enhanced GUI design tools and direct support of external

C++ C++ (, pronounced "C plus plus" and sometimes abbreviated as CPP or CXX) is a high-level, general-purpose programming language created by Danish computer scientist Bjarne Stroustrup. First released in 1985 as an extension of the C programmin ...

libraries. In 1995 they released ''Elements Environment'', a

middleware Middleware is a type of computer software program that provides services to software applications beyond those available from the operating system. It can be described as "software glue". Middleware makes it easier for software developers to imple ...

suite of object-oriented tools that can be used to build distributed applications. ''Web Element'', a component of the version 2.0 ''Elements Environment'', allowed interaction of developed applications with the

World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW or simply the Web) is an information system that enables Content (media), content sharing over the Internet through user-friendly ways meant to appeal to users beyond Information technology, IT specialists and hobbyis ...

. In order to improve their

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

interface development skills, in 1997 Neuron Data acquired the software component company Microline Software. On March 23, 2000, the company was taken public by CEO Thomas F. Kelly; the company name was changed to Blaze Software, with Nasdaq code BLZE. It was then acquired by German software company Brokat. They were sold to HNC, Inc., which, in turn, merged with

FICO FICO (legal name: Fair Isaac Corporation), originally Fair, Isaac and Company, is an American data analytics company based in Bozeman, Montana, focused on credit scoring services. It was founded by Bill Fair and Earl Isaac in 1956. Its FIC ...

in 2002.

Products

* Nexpert * Nexpert Object * NExtra * Open Interface * Elements Environment * Blaze Advisor

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite journal , first=Robert J. , last=Dunn , date=September 30, 1985 , title=Expandable Expertise for Everyday Users , page=30 , journal=InfoWorld , volume=7 , issue=39 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iS8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA30 , accessdate=2011-03-13 {{cite journal , first=Martin , last=Lamonica , title=Neuron Helps Distribute Apps , page=23 , journal=InfoWorld , date=July 3, 1995 , volume=17 , issue=27 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1zoEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA23 , accessdate=2011-03-13 {{cite journal , first=John , last=Cox , date=December 18, 1995 , title=Neuron Data lets users build Web links into existing apps , page=8 , journal=NetworkWorld , volume=12 , issue=51 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8xAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA8 , accessdate=2011-03-13 {{cite web , title=Neuron Data wins cross-platform race: OPEN INTERFACE earns The X Journal 1995 Editor's Choice , date=May 2, 1995 , publisher=All Business , url=http://www.allbusiness.com/technology/software-services-applications-programming/7124348-1.html , accessdate=2011-03-13 {{cite web , title=S1 , publisher=SEC, url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1103088/0001012870-00-000106.txt , accessdate=2011-06-07 {{cite journal , title=Neuron Ships PC Version of Nexpert , journal=InfoWorld , volume=8 , issue=47 , page=14 , date=November 24, 1986 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hTwEAAAAMBAJ , accessdate=2011-06-09 {{cite journal , first=Nora , last = Georgas , journal=PC Computing , date=June 10, 1986 , url=http://www.lc-capital.com/jmc/images/MicrosoftWindowsOnWallStreet-1.jpg , title=New Applications, 3270 Support, Enhance Microsoft's Windows {{cite journal , first=Douglas, last = Barney , journal=Computerworld , volume=20 , issue=23 , date=June 9, 1986 , url=http://www.lc-capital.com/jmc/images/MicrosoftWindowsOnWallStreet-2.jpg , title=Windows Opens On Wall Street {{cite journal , first=Edward , last = Warner , journal=InfoWorld , volume=9 , issue=28 , date=July 13, 1987 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xzAEAAAAMBAJ&q=infoworld+%22Neuron+Data%22&pg=RA1-PA89 , title=AI Meeting to Spotlight Expert System Software {{cite journal , first=Alice, last = LaPlante, journal=InfoWorld , volume=12 , issue=40 , page=55 , date=October 1, 1990, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VTwEAAAAMBAJ&q=infoworld+%22Neuron+Data%22&pg=PT56 , title=Bring In The Expert {{cite journal , first=Jim, last = Hammett, journal=InfoWorld , volume=16 , issue=13 , page=26 , date=March 28, 1994, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EjsEAAAAMBAJ&q=infoworld+%22Neuron+Data%22&pg=PA26 , title=Smart Elements Offer Direct Support For C++

External links

Neuron Data website

archive.org The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...

Neuron Data as aired on Discovery Channel, October 2nd, 1991

Neuron Data timeline and Web site replica
Defunct software companies of the United States