1. A visual software development system, comprising: a first adapter to generate descriptions for a first software system, the first software system built in accordance with a first platform of a plurality of software platforms, the first adapter being associated with the same software platform as the first software system, the first adapter interrogating at least one element of the first software system utilizing the first platform and generating at least one description corresponding to an element of the first software system without altering or extending the first software system, the first adapter having a user interface to initiate interrogation; an integrated development environment (IDE) to build a design using the descriptions, the IDE having a user interface to graphically select descriptions and create the interconnections, the design comprising user-selected descriptions and interconnections between descriptions and graphical icons representing the user-selected descriptions and interconnections, the user-selected descriptions and interconnections together defining a user-defined algorithm; and a loader to enable the user-defined algorithm to be effected in response to the descriptions and interconnections.