Caine, Farber & Gordon, Inc

What Caine, Farber & Gordon, Inc does

Caine, Farber & Gordon, Inc. (CFG) is a privately-held U.S. software firm founded in 1970 and headquartered in Pasadena, California. Established by Steve Caine, Dave Farber, and Kent Gordon, the firm operates as a consultancy concentrating on solving hard software and systems problems. CFG is principally known for inventing the Program Design Language (PDL) in 1973 and releasing its commercial processor, PDL/81, in 1981. PDL/81 pairs a structured English-like design language with a document-generation processor that produces cross-referenced design documentation, cyclomatic complexity metrics, requirements traceability, automatic portion marking for classified documents, and combined code-and-design file maintenance for procedure-intensive software projects.

The firm generates revenue through two primary streams: perpetual software licensing of PDL/81 (priced on an RPQ — Request for Price Quotation — basis, typically under multi-year contracts) and professional services for complex multi-discipline engineering projects such as seismic data processing, medical imaging systems, and aerospace software. CFG's publicly listed customer base spans large enterprises and government agencies, including Boeing, Lockheed, Raytheon, NASA, the U.S. Air Force, IBM, and Intel, though the firm states it responds favorably only to existing licensees and organizations with inherited PDL/81 codebases, indicating a maintenance-oriented engagement model rather than active customer acquisition. Legacy compiler products (S-Fortran, 80/DS, 86/PC, PL/M-80, FORTRAN 77) are no longer commercially available but remain documented on the firm's website for long-term project support.

Operationally, CFG appears to operate as a small, niche consultancy. The firm's last documented product release is PDL/81 Version 2.2, which is Y2K-compliant, and its public website last recorded updates in early 2008. In January 1995 CFG co-founded Gatekeeper Systems, a joint venture with Philip A. Naecker focused on high-performance Internet applications serving geographic and enterprise data, but no subsequent product launches or strategic moves are evident. CFG retains trademarks on PDL/81, PDL/74, and the 'PDL' prefix, and operates from a single Pasadena office while serving clients globally.

Name

Caine, Farber & Gordon, Inc

Legal name

Caine, Farber & Gordon, Inc.

Website

https://cfg.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Caine, Farber & Gordon, Inc. is a privately-held Pasadena, California software firm, founded in 1970, known for inventing the PDL/81 Program Design Language Processor and providing specialized consulting primarily to legacy aerospace, defense, and government customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Pasadena

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Software Licensing: CFG licenses PDL/81 on an RPQ (Request for Price Quotation) basis. The company indicates they will tend to respond favorably to existing licensees and those who have inherited large PDL/81 projects, suggesting a focus on maintaining legacy customer relationships. While compilers are stated as no longer available, the PDL/81 product line continues to generate licensing revenue.
2. Professional Services / Consulting: CFG is described as a firm of software and systems professionals that concentrates on solving hard problems. The company has been involved in large multi-discipline projects including seismic data processing systems, medical imaging systems, and aerospace applications, suggesting revenue from consulting and custom development engagements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CFG develops, licenses, and supports PDL/81, a proprietary Program Design Language Processor that enables software designers to express structured designs in a controlled English-like language and automatically generate high-quality, cross-referenced design documents. The company also provides professional software and systems consulting services for complex multi-discipline projects such as seismic data processing, medical imaging, and aerospace systems. Legacy compilers (PL/M-80, FORTRAN 77, S-Fortran, 80/DS, 86/PC) remain in use on long-term projects though they are no longer commercially available.

Product overview

Caine, Farber & Gordon, Inc. (CFG) is a software firm founded in 1970 that specializes in programming languages and compilers. The core product is PDL/81, a Program Design Language Processor for systematic software design and documentation. While CFG has historically developed multiple compilers (S-Fortran, 80/DS, 86/PC, PL/M-80, FORTRAN 77) for various clients including Intel Corporation and Societe National des Petroles d'Aquitaine, these legacy products are no longer commercially available though they remain in use. The company also provides software consulting services and co-founded Gatekeeper Systems for internet applications in 1995.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PDL/81 (Program Design Language Processor) A proprietary software design tool that provides a structured English-like language for expressing software designs clearly and unambiguously, plus a processor for generating high-quality, cross-referenced design documents including cover pages, tables of contents, flow segments, data segments, segment reference trees, and indexes. Supports complexity measurement, requirements tracking, Ada-specific design styles, classified-document portion marking, and combined code-and-design maintenance. Sold under RPQ licensing primarily to existing licensees and organizations with inherited PDL/81 codebases.
• Software and Systems Consulting Services Professional software and systems consulting for solving hard, multi-discipline problems. CFG has been engaged on projects including seismic data processing systems (for Societe National des Petroles d'Aquitaine and Elf Aquitaine), the first second-generation whole-body CAT scanner (for EMI Medical), and integrated development systems for the Voyager planetary exploration missions (for Jet Propulsion Laboratory). Sold as custom engagements to enterprise and government customers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 60-65 lines of finished code per man-day on complex projects using latest CFG methods (compared to 40 lines using classical structured programming and much lower industrial averages)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers58 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered major and minor.

• Gatekeeper SystemsmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1995In January 1995, CFG co-founded Gatekeeper Systems, a joint-venture company that is a software development and consulting firm producing high-performance Internet applications. The company specializes in developing applications that serve up geographic, facility, and enterprise data in an integrated manner over the internet. Gatekeeper Systems serves business and government customers worldwide.
• Philip A. Naecker, Consulting Software EngineersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Gatekeeper Systems joint venture. Philip A. Naecker is identified as a consulting software engineer collaborating with CFG on the Gatekeeper Systems venture.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• JetBrains: Modern developer tooling company providing IDEs and code intelligence that have displaced structured design methodologies like PDL/81 for new development. Represents the structural competitive threat to legacy design language tools.
• Coverity (Synopsys): Static analysis and code quality tools that address part of what PDL/81 aimed to achieve through design discipline. Targets similar enterprise customers concerned with software reliability and complexity management.
• Perforce (Helix ALM): Provides application lifecycle management, version control, and documentation tools for enterprise and government engineering organizations. Overlaps with CFG's space in serving complex engineering projects that require rigorous design documentation and traceability.
• MathWorks: Provides MATLAB and Simulink for model-based design and engineering workflows at aerospace, defense, and automotive customers. Represents the modern evolution of the structured design market that CFG's PDL/81 once addressed.
• Rational Software: Acquired by IBM, Rational was a major CASE tool vendor of similar vintage to CFG, offering structured design and development methodologies to large enterprises. Both addressed the same problem space of disciplined software engineering before modern IDEs.

Direct peers

• AdaCore: Provides tools, compilers, and verification for the Ada programming language. CFG specifically developed an Ada Design Style for PDL/81, indicating direct overlap in serving Ada-based defense and aerospace engineering workflows.
• Green Hills Software: Provides compilers, debuggers, and integrated development environments for embedded safety-critical systems in aerospace, defense, and automotive. Serves the same customer profile as CFG with comparable rigor-focused development tools.
• Liant Software: Vintage-era vendor of programming language tools and compilers for enterprise customers. Operated in the same niche as CFG during the same period, serving similar mainframe and minicomputer development environments.
• LDRA: Provides software analysis, testing, and standards compliance tools for safety-critical and security-critical embedded systems. Like CFG, serves defense and aerospace customers requiring rigorous software engineering documentation and traceability.
• McCabe & Associates: Founded in the same era as CFG, McCabe built software complexity and testing tools that, like PDL/81, targeted rigorous software engineering practices at enterprise and government customers. Comparable vintage, niche specialization, and customer base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Caine, Farber & Gordon, Inc