TOPOLOGY MODELING APPLICATION THAT HANDLES ABSTRACT ENTITIES THROUGH THE REALIZATION OF CONCEPTUAL OBJECTS

• US 20090319239A1
• Filed: 06/18/2008
• Published: 12/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: ARNOLD, WILLIAM C., EILAM, TAMAR, TOTOK, ALEXANDER A., KALANTAR, MICHAEL H., BLANCETT, BRAD L., MAKIN, NARINDER, POUYER, TIMOTHY A., SWANKE, JOHN E., ELDER, MICHAEL D., BERG, DANIEL C., HOLLIDAY, CHAD M., KONSTANTINOU, ALEXANDER V., SNIBLE, EDWARD C.
• Application Number:
  US12/141,655
• Publication Number:
  US 20090319239A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 703/6
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/02 Knowledge representation; Symbolic representation

Abstract

The present invention can include a solution for handling abstract entities through the realization of conceptual objects within a modeling application. Such a system can include a semantic model and a modeling application. The semantic model can be configured to present relationships between entities. The entities can include both conceptual objects and concrete objects. A conceptual object can represent an abstract definition that can contain unfulfilled functional parameters. The conceptual object can be associated with another conceptual object or concrete object using a realization relationship. The modeling application can be configured to handle conceptual objects and realization relationships, while preserving the relational integrity of the semantic model.

Claims

1. A system for handling abstract entities through the realization of conceptual objects within a topology modeling application comprising:

a semantic model configured to present relationships between a plurality of entities, wherein the plurality of entities comprises at least one conceptual object and at least one concrete object, wherein the at least one conceptual object is associated with one of a secondary conceptual object and a concrete object using a realization relationship, and, wherein the at least one conceptual object represents an abstract definition of an entity containing at least one unfulfilled functional parameter; and

a modeling application configured to handle the at least one conceptual object and the realization relationship of the semantic model, wherein a relational integrity of the semantic model is preserved.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the modeling application further comprises:

a conceptual object handler configured to support a usage of the at least one conceptual object and the realization relationship by the modeling application for creating the semantic model; and

a modeling engine configured to process the at least one conceptual object and the realization relationship of the semantic model to produce a final concrete semantic model, wherein the at least one conceptual object of the semantic model is realized into a corresponding concrete object within the final concrete semantic model, whereby the final concrete semantic model resolves all unfulfilled functional parameters of all conceptual objects contained within the semantic model.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the modeling engine further comprises:

a realization processor configured to evaluate the realization relationship utilizing a plurality of realization rules, wherein said evaluation ensures that a target entity of the realization relationship encompasses at least one of the at least one unfulfilled functional parameters of an originating conceptual object.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the plurality of realization rules comprises at least one of an object type compliance, a capabilities satisfaction, a requirements satisfaction, a constraint satisfaction, and a realization fulfillment.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the modeling engine produces the final concrete semantic model utilizing semantic folding.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the modeling engine is configured to provide at least one folded view when utilizing semantic folding, wherein the modeling application is configured to exposed the at least one folded view to consumers for purposes including validation and resolution.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one unfilled parameter comprises at least one of a constraint, a requirement, and a capability.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein an entity of the semantic model is identified within the modeling application as a conceptual object using a conceptuality indicator, wherein a presence of the conceptuality indicator within the entity allows a creation of the at least one unfilled parameter, wherein said creation is forbidden within the at least one concrete object.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the conceptuality indicator is represented by a user-selectable BOOLEAN variable within the modeling application.

10. A method for handling abstract entities through the realization of conceptual objects within a modeling application comprising:

identifying at least one realization relationship of a semantic model presented within a modeling application, wherein the at least one realization relationship is between a conceptual object and a target object, wherein the target object is one of a secondary conceptual object and a concrete object, and, wherein the conceptual object represents an abstract definition of an entity containing at least one unfulfilled functional parameter;

processing the at least one realization relationship; and

when the at least one realization relationship is thoroughly processed, semantically folding the conceptual object into the target object, wherein the target object encompasses at least one of the at least one unfulfilled functional parameters of the conceptual object.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the processing step further comprises:

validating the realization relationship against a plurality of realization rules that define a proper usage of the realization relationship within the semantic model.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the plurality of realization rules comprises at least one of an object type compliance, a capabilities satisfaction, a requirements satisfaction, a constraint satisfaction, and a realization fulfillment.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

when the realization relationship is unable to be thoroughly processed, visually presenting a graphical identifier upon the realization relationship within the modeling application, wherein the graphical identifier signifies incomplete processing of the realization relationship.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the incomplete processing of the realization relationship is caused by at least one of an existence of at least one unfulfilled parameter within the target object, and an violation of a realization rule

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the processing step is performed by a realization processor, wherein the realization processor is a component of a modeling engine of the modeling application.

16. The method of claim 10, the at least one unfilled parameter comprises at least one of a constraint, a requirement, and a capability.

17. A semantic model that incorporates abstract entities using realization relationships comprising:

at least one conceptual object configured to represent an abstract entity of a semantic model containing at least one unfulfilled functional parameter;

at least one concrete object configured to represent an absolute entity of the semantic model, wherein all functional parameters of the at least one concrete object are fulfilled; and

at least one realization relationship associating an originating object with a target object, wherein the originating object is the at least one conceptual object and the target object comprises at least one of a secondary conceptual object and a concrete object, wherein the target object fulfills at least one of the at least one unfulfilled functional parameters of the originating object.

18. The semantic model of claim 17, wherein the elements of claim 17 are created within a modeling application, wherein the modeling application is configured to handle said elements of claim 17.

19. The semantic model of claim 18, wherein the at least one conceptual object is created within the modeling application using a conceptuality indicator, wherein a presence of the conceptuality indicator allows a creation of the at least one unfilled parameter within the at least one conceptual object, wherein said creation is forbidden within the at least one concrete object.

20. The semantic model of claim 17, wherein the at least one unfilled parameter comprises at least one of a constraint, a requirement, and a capability.