Computer method and apparatus for implementing subsets constraints in programming models

• US 20060101381A1
• Filed: 10/29/2004
• Published: 05/11/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hussey, Kenneth Earle
• Application Number:
  US10/977,794
• Publication Number:
  US 20060101381A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/10 Requirements analysis; Specification techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/30 Creation or generation of source code

Abstract

A computer method and system for implementing subsetting properties and subsets constraints in a programming model. The method and system provide a model element having a subsetting property or a property with a subsets constraint. The invention stores subsets constraints information as annotations to the model element. An interpreter member interprets the stored information and generates therefrom a model that implements subsetted properties with their superset of values and implements subsetting properties with their subset of values.

Claims

1. A computer method for modeling subsets constraints in a programming model comprising:

providing a model element having a property with a subsets constraint;

storing indications of the subsets constraint in a manner corresponding to the model element; and

interpreting the stored indications and generating therefrom a model that implements subsetted properties and subsetting properties.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of interpreting and generating employs EMF (Eclipse Modeling Framework).

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of generating generates Java code that implements the subsets constraint.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of storing includes recording information about the subsets constraint as an annotation to the model element.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4 wherein the recorded information includes subset values and superset values.

6. A carrier medium comprising computer readable code for controlling a processor to implement modeling of subsets constraints in a programming model, by carrying out the steps of:

providing a model element having a property with a subsets constraint;

storing indications of the subsets constraint in a manner corresponding to the model element; and

interpreting the stored indications and generating therefrom a model that implements the property including implementing subsetted properties and subsetting properties.

7. A carrier medium as claimed in claim 6 wherein the step of interpreting and generating employs EMF (Eclipse Modeling Framework).

8. A carrier medium as claimed in claim 6 wherein the step of generating generates JAVA code that implements the subsets constraint.

9. A carrier medium as claimed in claim 6 wherein the step of storing includes recording information about the subsets constraint as an annotation to the model element.

10. A carrier medium as claimed in claim 9 wherein the recorded information includes subset values and superset values.

11. A carrier medium as claimed in claim 6 wherein the carrier medium is any one of or a combination of a propagated signal, a transient carrier and a storage medium.

12. A computer system for implementing subsets constraints in a target code, comprising:

modeling means for providing a model element having a property with one or more subsets constraints;

means for storing subsets constraint information; and

an interpreter for interpreting the stored subsets constraints information and generating target code therefrom that implements subset values and superset values of the subsets constraints.

13. A computer system as claimed in claim 12 wherein the modeling means includes a Rose model, and the interpreter employs EMF.

14. A computer system as claimed in claim 12 wherein the target code is JAVA.

15. A computer system as claimed in claim 12 wherein the means for storing include annotations to the model element.

16. A computer system as claimed in claim 15 wherein the stored information includes subset values and superset values of each subsets constraint.

17. A carrier medium comprising computer readable code for controlling a processor to implement subsetting properties in a target code, by carrying out the steps of:

providing a model element having a subsetting property;

storing subsetting information from the subsetting property; and

interpreting the stored subsetting information and generating target code therefrom that implements subset values corresponding to the subsetting property.

18. A carrier medium as claimed in claim 17 wherein the step of interpreting and generating employs EMF (Eclipse Modeling Framework).

19. A carrier medium as claimed in claim 17 wherein the target code is JAVA.

20. A carrier medium as claimed in claim 17 wherein the step of storing includes recording subsetting information as one or more annotations to the model element.

21. A carrier medium as claimed in claim 17 wherein the carrier medium is any one of or a combination of a propagated signal, a transient carrier and a storage medium.

22. A carrier medium as claimed in claim 17 wherein the stored subsetting information includes subset values corresponding to the subsetting property and superset values corresponding to a respective subsetted property;

and

the step of interpreting and generating takes into account the superset values and therefrom effectively maintains the subset values.

23. A carrier medium as claimed in claim 22 further carrying out the step of maintaining the superset values from changes made to the subset values.