Software building support system

• US 20040015838A1
• Filed: 01/31/2002
• Published: 01/22/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Watase, Shinichiro, Nomura, Keisuke, Kanaji, Katsuyuki
• Granted Patent: US 6,966,050 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/107
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/20 Software design
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming

Abstract

There is provided a software building support system capable of efficiently building, managing and reusing a software program. The software building support system 1 includes a program design part 10 for supporting the design of a composite program and for outputting the results thereof as a program structure information (XML file) 20. The program design part 10 includes a component line-connection part 12 for defining the structure of the composite program on the basis of instructions obtained by a graphical interface part 11, and a composite component setting part 13 for setting a plurality of software components, which are associated with each other, as a single composite component. The composite component setting part 13 includes a terminal setting part 14 for setting a terminal of the composite component, which is used for allowing the composite component to communicate with another external component, and an attribute setting part 15 for setting an inherent property of the composite component.

Claims

1. A software building support system of building a software program by connecting a plurality of software components, said system comprising:

an interface part that receives an instruction from an outside; and

a composite component setting part that sets a plurality of software components, which are associated with each other, as a single composite component, on the basis of the instruction obtained by said interface part.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein said composite component setting part includes a terminal setting part for setting a terminal of the composite component, which is used for allowing the composite component to communicate with another external component.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein said composite component setting part includes an attribute setting part for setting an inherent property of the composite component.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein said interface part is adapted to display a plurality of software components as icons on a tool screen and to receive an operation for the icons as an instruction from the outside.

5. A software building support method of building a software program by connecting a plurality of software components, said method comprising the steps of:

preparing a plurality of software components, which are associated with each other, on the basis of an instruction received from an outside; and

setting said plurality of software components as a single composite component on the basis of the instruction received from the outside.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising the step of setting a terminal of the composite component, which is used for allowing the composite component to communicate with another external component.

7. The method according to claim 5, further comprising the step of setting an inherent property of the composite component on the basis of the instruction received from the outside.

8. A computer readable recording medium having stored a software building support program of building a software program by connecting a plurality of software components, said program causing a computer to execute the procedures of:

preparing a plurality of software components, which are associated with each other, on the basis of an instruction received from an outside; and

setting said plurality of software components as a single composite component on the basis of the instruction received from the outside.

9. The recording medium according to claim 8, wherein said program further causes the computer to execute the procedure of setting a terminal of the composite component, which is used for allowing the composite component to communicate with another external component on the basis of the instruction received from the outside.

10. The recording medium according to claim 8, wherein said program further causes the computer to execute the procedure of setting an inherent property of the composite component on the basis of the instruction received from the outside.

11. A computer readable recording medium having stored a composite component comprising a combination of a plurality of software components which are associated with each other, said composite component comprising:

a terminal portion for setting a terminal for communicating with another external component;

a processing describing portion for describing a flow of processing between a plurality of software components; and

an attribute value storing portion for storing therein an attribute value indicative of an inherent property of the plurality of software components.