User-defined hierarchies of user-defined classes of graphical objects in a graphical modeling environment

• US 20080092111A1
• Filed: 08/03/2007
• Published: 04/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The MathWorks, Inc.
• Original Assignee: The MathWorks, Inc.
• Inventors: Kinnucan, Paul F., Mosterman, Pieter J., Mestchian, Ebrahim Mehran
• Granted Patent: US 8,166,452 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/105
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/10 Requirements analysis; Specification techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4492 Inheritance

Abstract

The present invention allows a user to graphically define a hierarchy of user-defined, executable classes of graphical objects that can be implemented in a graphical model. The present invention supports the features of inheritance, abstraction and polymorphism. Further, descendant classes of graphical objects can graphically extend the behavior and/or structure of ancestor classes of graphical objects.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for specifying a hierarchy of user-defined classes of graphical objects comprising:

graphically specifying a first class of graphical objects and a second class of graphical objects in a graphical modeling environment; and

graphically specifying, in the graphical modeling environment, at least one child class of graphical objects that is a subclass of the first class of graphical objects and the second class of graphical objects for the hierarchy of classes of graphical objects,

wherein a number of inputs and a number of outputs of the at least one child class depend respectively on a number of inputs and a number of outputs of the first class of graphical objects and the second class of graphical objects.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the at least one child class of graphical objects inherits inputs and outputs from the first class of graphical objects and the second class of graphical objects in a parallel inheritance.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the number of outputs of the at least one child class is equal to a sum of the number of outputs of the first class of graphical objects and the number of outputs of the second class of graphical objects.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the number of inputs of the at least one child class is equal to a sum of the number of inputs of the first class of graphical objects and the number of inputs of the second class of graphical objects.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein a position of the first class of graphical objects and the second class of graphical objects in a class hierarchy determines an order in which inputs and outputs of the first class of graphical objects and the second class of graphical objects appear in an interface of the at least one child class.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the at least one child class of graphical objects inherits inputs and outputs from the first class of graphical objects and the second class of graphical objects in a serial inheritance.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the number of inputs of the first class of graphical objects is equal to the number of inputs of the second class of graphical objects and the number of outputs of the first class of graphical objects is equal to the number of outputs of the second class of graphical objects.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein inputs of the first class of graphical objects are connected to outputs of the second class of graphical objects.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein inputs of the at least one child class of graphical objects are equal to the inputs of the first class of graphical objects and outputs of the at least one child class of graphical objects are equal to the outputs of the second class of graphical objects.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the at least one child class of graphical objects inherits inputs and outputs in a mixed mode multiple inheritance, wherein the mixed mode comprises serial inheritance and parallel inheritance.

11. A computing system comprising:

a graphical modeling environment for specifying a hierarchy of user-defined classes of graphical objects, wherein the graphical modeling environment includes;

a first graphical user interface for defining a class of graphical objects; and

a second graphical user interface for developing the hierarchy of user-defined classes of graphical objects, wherein the second graphical user interface enables a user to identify aspects of the hierarchy with visual cues.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the hierarchy of user-defined classes of graphical objects comprises a first class of graphical objects, a second class of graphical objects and a third class of graphical objects that is a child of the first class of graphical objects and the second class of graphical objects, wherein a number of inputs and a number of outputs of the third class depend respectively on a number of inputs and a number of outputs of the first class of graphical objects and the second class of graphical objects.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the identifying further comprises identifying parallel inheritance with a first visual cue.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the identifying further comprises identifying serial inheritance with a second visual cue.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the visual cues are created using one or more of highlighting, blinking effect, dashed lines, thin lines, thick lines, shades and colors.

17. The medium of claim 15, wherein graphically specifying the root class of graphical objects comprises generating a class of graphical objects as the root class of graphical objects.

18. The medium of claim 15, wherein graphically specifying the root class of graphical objects comprises specifying an existing class of graphical objects as the root class of graphical objects.

19. The medium of claim 15, further comprising:

instructions for displaying a hierarchical menu to a user, wherein the hierarchical menu displays one or more instances of each class in the hierarchy of classes of graphical objects at different levels.

20. The medium of claim 19, wherein the user inserts one or more instances of a class of graphical objects in the executable graphical model.

16. A computer-readable medium storing instructions for generating a hierarchy of user-defined classes of graphical objects in a graphical modeling environment, the medium comprising:

instructions for graphically specifying a root class of graphical objects in the graphical modeling environment; and

instructions for graphically specifying, in the graphical modeling environment, at least one child class of graphical objects that is a subclass of the root class of graphical objects for the hierarchy of classes of graphical objects,

wherein at least one of the root or the at least one child class of graphical objects can be instantiated in an executable graphical model.