System and method for error reporting

• US 20060161800A1
• Filed: 01/18/2005
• Published: 07/20/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Laboratories of America Incorporated (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Lovat, David John, Dathathraya, Sridhar
• Granted Patent: US 7,571,429 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/4
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/366 using diagnostics G06F11/0703 takes precedence

Abstract

A system and method are provided for reporting errors in an object-oriented software architecture environment. The method comprises: an application calling an initial method; in response to the initial method call, at least one object encountering an error in response to a subsequent method call; accumulating error information; and, creating a user-defined accumulated error report. Generally, accumulating error information includes: calling an accumulated error reporting object; and, from the accumulated error report object, calling a method for adding received error information to accumulated error information. Then, creating the user-defined accumulated error report includes calling a method for creating an error report text message by: reviewing the accumulated error information; and, matching accumulated error information with user-selected error criteria. Further, creating an error report text message may include calling a method for: recovering a text message associated with each matching error; and, logically presenting the recovered text message errors.

Claims

1. A method for reporting errors in an object-oriented software architecture environment, the method comprising:

an application calling an initial method;

at least one object called by the initial method encountering an error in response to a subsequent method call;

accumulating error information; and

creating a user-defined accumulated error report.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein calling the initial method includes a Microsoft™

Component Object Model (COM) application calling the initial method; and

wherein accumulating error information includes;

a COM ISupportErrorInfo object receiving a first error information; and

installing an accumulated error reporting object that calls a method for;

adding the first error information to accumulated error information; and

replacing the first error information in the COM runtime with the accumulated error information.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein accumulating error information includes:

calling an accumulated error reporting object; and

from the accumulated error report object, calling a method for adding received error information to accumulated error information; and

wherein creating the user-defined accumulated error report includes calling a method for creating an error report text message.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein creating an error report text message includes calling a method for:

reviewing the accumulated error information; and

matching accumulated error information with user-selected error criteria.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein creating an error report text message includes calling a method for:

recovering a text message associated with each matching error; and

logically presenting the recovered text message errors.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein encountering an error in response to a subsequent method call includes:

making a first plurality of method calls from a second plurality of objects; and

encountering a third plurality of error responses to the calls;

wherein accumulating error information includes matching the third plurality of error responses to user-defined error criteria; and

wherein creating an error report text message includes logically presenting a third plurality of text message errors.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein making the first plurality of method calls from the second plurality of objects includes:

calling a second object from a first object method; and

calling a third object from a second object method;

wherein accumulating error information includes;

the second object retrieving any error information associated with the third object, adding its own error information, and storing the accumulated error information; and

the first object retrieving any error information associated with the second object, adding its own error information, and storing the accumulated error information.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein logically presenting the recovered text messages includes chronologically organizing the text message errors.

9. The method of claim 5 wherein creating an error report text message includes generating the report in extensible Markup Language (XML) format.

10. The method of claim 3 wherein calling the initial method includes calling the initial method from an application in a network of connected devices;

and

wherein calling a method for creating an error report text message includes reporting errors selected from the group including network connection errors and device errors.

11. A system for reporting errors in an object-oriented software architecture environment, the system comprising:

an application calling an initial method;

a first object calling a subsequent method in response to receiving the initial method call, encountering an error in executing the subsequent method call, and transmitting error information; and

an accumulated error reporting object accumulating error information from the objects and creating a user-defined accumulated error report.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the application is a Microsoft™

Component Object Model (COM) application;

the system further comprising;

a COM ISupportErrorInfo object receiving transmitted error information; and

wherein the accumulated error reporting object calls a method for adding received error information to accumulated error information, and replacing error information in the COM runtime with the accumulated error information.

13. The system of claim 11 wherein the accumulated error reporting object calls a method for adding received error information to accumulated error information, and for creating an error report text message.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the accumulated error reporting object calls a method for reviewing the accumulated error information and matching accumulated error information with user-selected error criteria, and calls a method for creating an error report text message using the matching error information.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the accumulated error reporting object calls a method for creating an error report text message by recovering a text message associated with each matching error and logically presenting the recovered text message errors.

16. The system of claim 15 further comprising:

a second plurality of objects making a first plurality of method calls, encountering a third plurality of error responses to the calls, and transmitting a third plurality of error messages; and

wherein the accumulated error reporting object calls a method for matching the third plurality of error messages to user-defined error criteria, and calls a method for logically presenting a third plurality of text message errors in the error report text message.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein a second object is called from a first object method, and wherein a third object is called from a second object method;

wherein the accumulated error reporting object;

receives accumulated error information from the third object;

sends the accumulated error information the second object;

receives accumulated error information updated with second object errors;

sends the accumulated error information to the first object; and

receives accumulated error information updated with the first object errors.

18. The system of claim 15 wherein the accumulated error reporting object calls a method for chronologically organizing the text message errors.

19. The system of claim 15 wherein the accumulated error reporting object calls a method for generating the error report text message in extensible Markup Language (XML) format.

20. The system of claim 13 further comprising:

a network of connected devices;

wherein the application calling the initial method resides with a network-connected device; and

wherein the accumulated error reporting object calls a method for creating an error report text message with errors selected from the group including network connection errors and device errors.