Construction of object-oriented programming (OOP) patterns by behavior delegation

• US 20070011652A1
• Filed: 07/10/2005
• Published: 01/11/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Schneider, Scott
• Granted Patent: US 8,990,766 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/116
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/35 model driven
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/36 Software reuse

Abstract

Object-oriented programming (OOP) design patterns are constructed at least partially by delegating their behaviors to preconstructed OOP patterns to implement the behaviors. A new OOP pattern having one or more behaviors is defined. Each of at least one of the behaviors is delegated to a preconstructed OOP pattern, the preconstructed OOP pattern therefore implementing the behavior. The new OOP pattern is thus constructed at least partially by delegating at least one of its behaviors to the preconstructed OOP patterns. Delegating a behavior to one of the preconstructed OOP patterns can be accomplished within a graphical user interface (GUI). Graphical representations of the new OOP pattern and of the preconstructed OOP patterns are displayed. Dragging the graphical representation of a selected preconstructed OOP pattern onto the graphical representation of the new OOP pattern causes a behavior of the new OOP pattern to be delegated to the selected preconstructed OOP pattern.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

defining a new object-oriented programming (OOP) pattern having a behavior; and

,

delegating the behavior of the new OOP pattern to one of a plurality of preconstructed OOP patterns to implement the behavior by the one of the preconstructed OOP patterns,

such that the new OOP pattern is constructed at least in part by delegating the behavior of the new OOP pattern to the preconstructed OOP patterns.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the new OOP pattern has one or more additional behaviors, such that each additional behavior is delegated to one of the plurality of preconstructed OOP patterns to implement the additional behavior by the one of the preconstructed OOP patterns.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving the plurality of preconstructed OOP patterns before delegating the behavior of the new OOP pattern to one of the preconstructed OOP patterns.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the preconstructed OOP patterns and the new OOP pattern comprise one or more OOP objects, and each of the preconstructed OOP patterns and the new OOP pattern defines a set of constraints on interaction among the OOP objects.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the new OOP pattern is capable of being employed to construct other new OOP patterns in that behaviors of the other new OOP patterns are capable of being delegated to the OOP pattern.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the new OOP pattern is a first new OOP pattern, the method further comprising:

defining a second new OOP pattern having a behavior; and

,

delegating the behavior of the second new OOP pattern to the first new OOP pattern to implement the behavior by the first new OOP pattern,

such that the second new OOP pattern is constructed at least in part by delegating the behavior of the second new OOP pattern to the first new OOP pattern.

7. The method of claim 6, the method further comprising:

delegating another behavior of the second new OOP pattern to one of the preconstructed OOP patterns to implement the other behavior by the one of the preconstructed OOP patterns,

such that the second new OOP pattern is further constructed at least in part by delegating the other behavior of the second new OOP pattern to the preconstructed OOP patterns.

8. The method of claim 6, the method further comprising:

defining a third new OOP pattern having a behavior; and

,

delegating the behavior of the third new OOP pattern to one of the first new OOP pattern and the second new OOP pattern to implement the behavior,

such that the third new OOP pattern is constructed at least in part by delegating the behavior of the third new OOP pattern to at least one of the first new OOP pattern and the second new OOP pattern.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the behavior of the new OOP pattern comprises an expand method, and delegating the behavior to one of the preconstructed OOP patterns comprises attaching the one of the preconstructed OOP patterns to the expand method of the new OOP pattern.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the behavior of the new OOP pattern comprises an update method, and delegating the behavior to one of the preconstructed OOP patterns comprises attaching the one of the preconstructed OOP patterns to the update method of the new OOP pattern.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein delegating the behavior of the new OOP pattern to one of the preconstructed OOP patterns comprises:

within a graphical user interface (GUI), displaying a graphical representation of the new OOP pattern;

within the GUI, displaying a graphical representation of each of the preconstructed OOP patterns; and

,

within the GUI, associating the graphical representation of a selected preconstructed OOP pattern with the graphical representation of the new OOP pattern to cause the behavior of the new OOP pattern to be delegated to the selected preconstructed OOP pattern.

12. A system comprising:

a graphical user interface (GUI) mechanism to display graphical representations of a new object-oriented programming (OOP) pattern and of one or more preconstructed OOP patterns and to enable the graphical representations of the preconstructed OOP patterns to be associated with the graphical representation of the new OOP pattern; and

,

a delegation mechanism to delegate behaviors of the new OOP pattern to the preconstructed OOP patterns in response to the graphical representations of the preconstructed OOP patterns being associated with the graphical representation of the new OOP pattern, in order to implement the behaviors of the new OOP pattern by the preconstructed OOP patterns.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the graphical representation of the new OOP pattern comprises a graphical representation of each behavior of the new OOP pattern, such that associating the graphical representation of one of the preconstructed OOP patterns with the graphical representation of one of the behaviors of the new OOP pattern causes the one of the behaviors of the new OOP pattern to be delegated to the one of the preconstructed OOP patterns.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein each behavior of the new OOP pattern comprises one of an expand method and an update method, such that delegation of the behavior to one of the preconstructed OOP patterns attaches the one of the preconstructed OOP patterns to the one of the expand method and the update method.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the new OOP pattern is a member of the preconstructed OOP patterns after construction of the new OOP pattern, such that the new OOP pattern is capable of being employed to construct other new OOP patterns in that behaviors of the other new OOP patterns are capable of being delegated to the OOP pattern.

16. An article of manufacture comprising:

a computer-readable medium; and

,

means in the medium for delegating each of at least one behavior of an object-oriented programming (OOP) pattern to one of a plurality of preconstructed OOP patterns to implement the behavior by the one of the preconstructed OOP patterns.

17. The article of claim 16, wherein the means is further for delegating each behavior of the OOP pattern by attaching one of the preconstructed OOP patterns to one of an expand method and an update method of each behavior of the OOP pattern.

18. The article of claim 16, wherein the means is further for adding the OOP pattern to the plurality of preconstructed OOP patterns, such that the OOP pattern is capable of being employed to construct other OOP patterns in that behaviors of the other OOP patterns are capable of being delegated to the OOP pattern.

19. The article of claim 16, wherein the OOP pattern is a first OOP pattern, and the means is further for delegating each of at least one behavior of a second OOP pattern to one of the first OOP pattern and the preconstructed OOP patterns to implement the behavior by the one of the first OOP pattern and the preconstructed OOP patterns.