Method and apparatus for determining class dependencies of objects and/or classes

• US 20030037320A1
• Filed: 11/27/2001
• Published: 02/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Saiyed, Junaid A., Lovvik, Paul A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,137,112 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/148
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/433 Dependency analysis; Data or control flow analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4488 Object-oriented

Abstract

One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that determines class dependencies of a class. The system operates by: receiving a representation of the class; creating a model of the class from the representation; analyzing the model to detect references to supporting classes; and creating a list of all dependent classes. For each supporting class found, the system recursively determines the dependencies of that class and adds them to the list. In a variation on this embodiment, the system identifies classes that an object depends on by: receiving a representation of an object; parsing the object to identify any classes on which the object depends; and analyzing and documenting the class dependencies of the object and all dependent classes.

Claims

1. A method for determining a class dependency that identifies a supporting class on which a target class depends, wherein the target class is defined in an object-oriented programming language, comprising:

receiving a representation of the target class;

creating a model of the target class from the representation;

analyzing the model to detect references to the supporting class;

if a supporting class is detected, determining a class dependency for the supporting class; and

creating a list of dependent classes for the target class and supporting classes.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, identifying classes that an object depends upon by:

receiving a representation of the object;

serializing the referenced object;

parsing the data resulting from the object serialization to identify classes referenced from the target object'"'"'s properties, configuration, or state; and

determining the dependent classes of the referenced object.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising saving the list of dependent classes to a storage structure.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the storage structure is one of a hash table and a database.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein creating the list of dependent classes includes creating one of a distribution list and a distribution file.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

inserting the object into an object database;

determining if the target class and supporting classes for the target class are in the class path; and

adding the target class and supporting classes for the target class to the class path if necessary.

7. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

retrieving the object from the object database;

determining if the target class and supporting classes for the target class are in the class path; and

adding the target class and supporting classes for the target class to the class path if necessary.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising filtering the list of identified classes to remove duplicate and core class references.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising saving the list of dependent classes of the target class as well as the list of dependent classes of the supporting classes in cache to facilitate subsequent lookups of dependent classes of the target class.

10. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method for determining a class dependency that identifies a supporting class on which a target class depends, wherein the target class is defined in an object-oriented programming language, the method comprising:

receiving a representation of the target class;

creating a model of the target class from the representation;

analyzing the model to detect references to the supporting class;

if a supporting class is detected, determining a class dependency for the supporting class; and

creating a list of dependent classes for the target class and supporting classes.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises, identifying classes that an object depends upon by:

receiving a representation of the object;

serializing the referenced object;

parsing the data resulting from the object serialization to identify classes referenced from the target object'"'"'s properties, configuration, or state; and

if a target class is identified, determining the dependent classes of the target class.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises saving the list of dependent classes to a storage structure.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the storage structure is one of a hash table and a database.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein creating the list of dependent classes includes creating one of a distribution list and a distribution file.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises:

inserting the object into an object database;

determining if the target class and supporting classes for the target class are in the class path; and

adding the target class and supporting classes for the target class to the class path if necessary.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises:

retrieving the object from the object database;

determining if the target class and supporting classes for the target class are in the class path; and

adding the target class and supporting classes for the target class to the class path if necessary.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises filtering the list of identified classes to remove duplicate and core class references.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises saving the list of dependent classes of the target class as well as the list of dependent classes of the supporting classes in cache to facilitate subsequent lookups of dependent classes of the target class.

19. An apparatus that determines a class dependency that identifies a supporting class on which a target class depends, wherein the target class is defined in an object-oriented programming language, comprising:

a receiving mechanism that is configured to receive a representation of the target class;

a modeling mechanism that is configured to create a model of the target class from the representation;

an analysis mechanism that is configured to analyze the model to detect references to the supporting class;

a supporting mechanism that is configured to determine a class dependency for the supporting class; and

a listing mechanism that is configured to create a list of dependent classes for the target class and supporting classes.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the receiving mechanism is additionally configured to receive a representation of an object;

a serializing mechanism is configured to serialize the referenced object;

a parsing mechanism configured to parse the data resulting from the object serialization to identify classes referenced from the target object'"'"'s properties, configuration, or state; and

a supporting mechanism that is configured to determine the dependent classes of the target class.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the listing mechanism is configured to save the list of dependent classes to a storage structure.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the storage structure is one of a hash table and a database.

23. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the listing mechanism is configured to create the list of dependent classes, including creating one of a distribution list and a distribution file.

24. The apparatus of claim 20, further comprising:

an insertion mechanism configured to insert the object into an object database;

a determining mechanism configured to determine if the target class and supporting classes for the target class are in the class path; and

an adding mechanism configured to add the target class and supporting classes for the target class to the class path if necessary.

25. The apparatus of claim 20, further comprising:

a retrieving mechanism configured to retrieve the object from an object database;

a determining mechanism configured to determine if the target class and supporting classes for the target class are in the class path; and

an adding mechanism configured to add the target class and supporting classes for the target class to the class path if necessary.

26. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising a filtering mechanism configured to filter the list of identified classes to remove duplicate and core class references.

27. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising a saving mechanism configured to save the list of dependent classes of the target class as well as the list of dependent classes of the supporting classes in cache to facilitate subsequent lookups of dependent classes of the target class