Variants in graphical modeling environments

• US 20050278162A1
• Filed: 12/14/2004
• Published: 12/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The MathWorks, Inc.
• Original Assignee: The MathWorks, Inc.
• Inventors: Guo, Yang, Ciolfi, John, Mani, Ramamurthy
• Granted Patent: US 7,742,903 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 703/22
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2111/02 CAD in a network environment, e.g. collaborative CAD or distributed simulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/20 Design optimisation, verification or simulation optimisation, verification or simulation of circuit designs G06F30/30

Abstract

This invention allows users to build, manipulate, and finally deploy various model configurations with little performance overhead, better syntactic clarity and configuration flexibility.

Claims

1. In an electronic device that provides a modeling environment, a method for creating and executing a model in the modeling environment, wherein the electronic device includes a display device, the method comprising the steps of:

providing the model, which includes a plurality of variants of an element in the model; and

compiling the model to execute the model using a first variant of the element, wherein the first variant of the element is one of the plurality of variants included in the model.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing the model comprises the step of:

selecting the first variant of the element from the plurality of variants included in the model.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first variant is selected by one of number, textual name and compile time variable.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing the model comprises the step of:

enabling users to see all of the plurality of variants included in the model.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing the model comprises the step of:

allowing users to see only the first variant of the element in the model.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing the model comprises the step of:

displaying on the display device the first variant of the element differently from other variants of the element.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of displaying the first variant comprises the step of:

visually modifying the first variant of the element to indicate that the first variant of the element has been selected.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the other variants of the element are faded out.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of compiling the model comprises the step of:

compiling the model to include the first variant of the element in a compiled model, wherein the other variants of the element are excluded from the compiled model.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of compiling the model comprises the step of:

compiling the model to include the first variant of the element and the other variants of the element in a compiled model.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the modeling environment includes at least one of a time-based block diagram modeling environment, a state-based and flow diagram modeling environment, a data flow diagram modeling environment, a physical modeling environment and a Unified Modeling Language (UML) modeling environment.

12. In an electronic device that provides a modeling environment, a method for creating and executing a model in the modeling environment, the method comprising the steps of:

providing the model, which includes a plurality of variants of an element in the model; and

saving the model into a saved model with a first variant of the element,

wherein the first variant of the element is one of the plurality of variants included in the model, wherein variants of the element other than the first variant are excluded from the saved model.

13. In an electronic device that provides a modeling environment, a method for creating and executing a model in the modeling environment, the method comprising the steps of:

providing the model, which includes a plurality of variants of an element in the model; and

generating code for model using a first variant of the element, wherein the code for the model includes code for the first variant of the element, wherein the first variant of the element is one of the plurality of variants included in the model.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of generating code comprises the step of:

generating code for the model, wherein the code for the model includes code for the first variant of the element and excludes code for other variants of the element in the model.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of generating code comprises the step of:

generating code for the first variant of the element and the other variants of the element in the model.

16. In an electronic device that provides a modeling environment, a method for creating and executing a model in the modeling environment, wherein the electronic device includes a display device, the method comprising the steps of:

providing the model, which includes a plurality of variants of an element in the model; and

loading the model with a first variant of the element, wherein the first variant of the element is one of the plurality of variants included in the model, wherein libraries or sub-models referenced by other variants of the element are excluded in loading the model,

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of loading the model comprises the step of:

loading the model in a compilation of the model without libraries or sub-models referenced by other variants of the element.

18. A system for creating and executing a model in a modeling environment, wherein the electronic device includes a display device, the method comprising the steps of:

an editor for providing the model, which includes a plurality of variants of an element in the model; and

a model processing engine for compiling the model to execute the model using a first variant of the element, wherein the first variant of the element is one of the plurality of variants included in the model.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the plurality of variants of the element receives and/or generates bus signals.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein at least one of the plurality of variants of the element includes a plurality of variants of another element of the model, so that variants of elements in the model are nested in a hierarchical manner.

21. The system of claim 18, further comprising a variant browser for displaying a hierarchy of the variants of elements in the model, wherein the variant browser enables users to interact with the hierarchy of the variants in the model.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the hierarchy of the variants of elements in the model is displayed through a programmatic API, wherein the programmatic API enables users to interact with the hierarchy of the variants in the model.

23. The system of claim 18, further comprising a code generator for generating code for model using the first variant of the element, wherein the code for the model includes code for the first variant of the element.

24. The system of claim 18, further comprising an execution engine for executing model using the first variant of the element to determine a behavior of the model.

25. The system of claim 18, wherein the modeling environment includes at least one of a time-based block diagram modeling environment, a state-based and flow diagram modeling environment, a data flow diagram modeling environment, a physical modeling environment, and a Unified Modeling Language (UML) modeling environment.

26. In an electronic device that provides a modeling environment, a method for creating and executing a model in the modeling environment, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a library containing a plurality of variants of an element in the model;

linking the plurality of variants to the model; and

compiling the model to execute the model using a first variant of the element, wherein the first variant of the element is one of the plurality of variants included in the model.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising the step of:

selecting the first variant of the element from the plurality of variants included in the model.

28. The method of claim 26, further comprising the step of:

saving the model into a saved model with the first variant of the element,

wherein the other variants of the element are excluded from the saved model.

29. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of compiling the model comprises the step of:

compiling the model to include the first variant of the element in a compiled model, wherein the other variants of the element are excluded from the compiled model.

30. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of compiling the model comprises the step of:

generating code for the first variant of the element and excluding the other variants of the element from the generated code.

31. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of compiling the model comprises the step of:

compiling the model by loading the model without libraries or models referenced by the other variants of the element.

32. In an electronic device that provides a modeling environment, a method for creating and executing a model in the modeling environment, the method comprising the steps of:

providing an element for the model in the modeling environment; and

enabling the element to pass an input signal received at an input port of the element to an output port of the element.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the step of enabling comprises the steps of:

checking a box for enabling the element to pass an input signal received at an input port of the element to an output port of the element odel; and

displaying the element differently when the box is checked.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein the step of displaying comprises the step of:

fading out the element when the box is checked.

35. In an electronic device that provides a modeling environment, a method for creating and executing a model in the modeling environment, wherein the electronic device includes a display device, the method comprising the steps of:

providing the model, which includes a plurality of variants of an element in the model; and

in response to users'"'"' section of the element, displaying on the display device the plurality of variants of the element using separate tabs.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the step of displaying the model comprises the step of:

enabling the users to select a first tab for a first variant of the element; and

displaying on the display device the first variant of the element.

37. In an electronic device that provides multiple modeling environments, a method for creating and executing a model in the multiple modeling environments, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a first plurality of variants of a first element in the model;

providing a second plurality of variants of a second element in the model; and

incorporating the first plurality of variants and the second plurality of variants into the model, wherein the first plurality of variants and the second plurality of variants are provided in different modeling environments.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the first plurality of variants are included in one of the second plurality of variants so that the first plurality of variants and the second plurality of variants are nested in a hierarchical manner.

39. The system of claim 39, wherein the multiple modeling environments includes at least two of a time-based block diagram modeling environment, a state-based and flow diagram modeling environment, a data flow diagram modeling environment, and a Unified Modeling Language (UML) modeling environment.

40. A system for generating a model in a modeling environment, wherein the model includes an element having a plurality of variants, the system comprising:

a user interface for incorporating the plurality of variants into the model, wherein the plurality of variants perform different functions for the element of the model; and

a selector for selecting one of the plurality of variants for the element of the model.

41. The system of claim 40, wherein the selector include a source selection element coupled to the plurality of variants for selecting one of the plurality of variants, wherein the plurality of variants include only one or more output ports.

42. The system of claim 40, wherein the selector includes a destination selection element coupled to the plurality of variants for selecting one of the plurality of variants, wherein the plurality of variants include only one or more input ports.

43. The system of claim 40, wherein the selector includes a pair of selection elements coupled to the plurality of variants for sandwiching the plurality of variants and for selecting one of the plurality of variants, wherein the plurality of variants include one or more input and output ports.

44. A computer program product for holding instructions executed in a computer to generate a model in a modeling environment, wherein the model includes at least an element having a plurality of variants, comprising:

incorporating the plurality of the variants into the model, wherein the plurality of variants perform different functions for the portion of the model; and

activating one of the plurality of variants for the portion of the model.

45. The computer program of claim 44, further comprising:

compiling the model to generate a compiled model, wherein one or more inactivated variants are removed from the compiled model.

46. The computer program of claim 44, further comprising:

generating code for the model, wherein code for one or more inactivated variants is excluded from the code for the model.

47. The computer program of claim 44, further comprising:

generating code for the model, wherein code for one or more inactivated variants is included in the code for the model.

48. The computer program of claim 44, further comprising:

executing the model to simulate behaviors of the model; and

displaying one or more inactivated variants differently than the activated variant.

49. A computer program product holding instructions executed in a computer to execute a method for generating a model in a modeling environment, wherein the model includes at least a portion having a plurality of variants, comprising:

displaying the plurality of the variants within the model, wherein the plurality of variants perform different functions for the portion of the model; and

providing a component for selecting one of the plurality of variants for the portion of the model.

50. The computer program product of claim 49, further comprising:

in response to selecting one of the plurality of variants, displaying one or more unselected variants in a different color than the selected variant.

51. The computer program product of claim 49, wherein the unselected variants are displayed in a different color than the selected variant.

52. A computer program product for holding instructions executed in a computer to generate a model in a modeling environment, wherein the model includes at least an element having a plurality of variants, the model comprising:

a plurality of variants incorporated into the model, wherein the plurality of variants perform different functions for the portion of the model; and

an element for selecting only one of the plurality of variants for the portion of the model.