Method and system for outputting program change effect information to a user

• US 5,133,063 A
• Filed: 07/25/1988
• Issued: 07/21/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/1987
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Maezawa, Hiroyuki, Naito, Ichiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Thomas C.
• Application Number:
  US07/223,612
• Time in Patent Office: 1,457 Days
• Field of Search: 364/200 MS File, 364/900 MS File, 364/300, 364/191, 364/192, 364/488, 364/489, 395/500, 395/1, 395/10, 395/50, 395/51
• US Class Current: 703/13
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/71 Version control security arrangements therefor G06F21/57; Configuration management
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 706/922 Computer program preparation

Abstract

A program change effect indicating method for use in a computer system designed to support the determination of parts to be changed in a program. Change steps associated with the method include; the steps of generating analyzed program information by analyzing a program, the analyzed program information representing attributes of respective statements in the program which constitute the program as well as connections between the statements; generating, in accordance with predetermined program intention determining rules, program intention information representing the intentions of the respective statements in the program from the analyzed program information. Inputting change designating information designated by a user which represents a statement to be changed and the contents of the changes; Further change steps associated with the method includes generating, in accordance with predetermined change detail determining rules, change effect information which identifies statements to be changed in association with the change designated by the user and the contents of the required changes from the program intention information, the information representing the relationship between the statements, and the change designating information; and outputting the change effect information.

Claims

1. A method of indicating parts of program affected by a change in a part of the program through use of a system incorporating a processing means, an inputting means, and an outputting means, said method comprising the steps of:

preparing, by said processing means, program intention information representing intentions of respective parts of the program and information representing a connection between parts of the program;

inputting from said inputting means to said processing means change designating information which represents a first part of the program to be subjected to a change and contents of the change to which the first part of the program is to be subjected;

generating by said processing means change effect information which identifies parts of the program other than the first part to be subjected to changes in accordance with the change to which the first part of the program is to be subjected and contents of the changes to which the other parts of the program are to be subjected, said change effect information being generated in accordance with predetermined change effect determining rules from the program intention information representing the intentions of the respective parts of the program, the information representing the connection between the parts of the program, and said change designating information; and

outputting to said outputting means said change effect information generated by said processing means for inspection by a user;

wherein the program intention information has a certainty factor affixed to it, and the outputting step includes the step of generating change effect information to which a certainty factor determined from said certainty factor affixed to the program intention information is affixed.

2. A program change effect indicating method according to claim 1, wherein said preparing step includes the step of generating analyzed program information by analyzing the program, said analyzed program information representing attributes of respective statements which constitute the program and a connection between the statements, and the step of generating, in accordance with predetermined program intention determining rules, said program intention information which represents intentions of the respective statements in the program from said analyzed program information.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the outputting step includes the step of displaying said change effect information on a display device.

4. A program change effect indicating method for use in a computer system designated to provide a determination of parts of a program to be subjected to changes and contents of the changes, said method comprising the steps of:

generating analyzed program information by analyzing the program, said analyzed program information representing attributes of respective statements which constitute the program and the connection between said statements;

generating, in accordance with predetermined program intention determining rules, program intention information representing intentions of said respective statements in the program from said analyzed program information;

inputting change designating information designated by a user which represents a particular statement to be subjected to a change and contents of the change to which the particular statement is to be subjected;

generating, in accordance with predetermined change effect determining rules, change effect information which identifies other statements to be subjected to changes in accordance with the change to which the particular statement is to be subjected and contents of the changes to which the other statements are to be subjected from said program intention information, information representing the relationship between the statements, and said change designating information; and

outputting said change effect information for inspection by a user;

wherein a certainty factor is affixed to said program intention determining rules, said program intention information generating step generates program intention information to which a certainty factor determined from the certainty factor affixed to said program intention determining rules is affixed and said change effect information generating step generates change effect information to which a certainty factor determined from said certainty factor affixed to said program intention information is affixed.

5. A program change effect indicating method according to claim 4, wherein a certainty factor is also affixed to said change effect determining rules, and said change effect information generating step determines the certainty factor affixed to said change effect information from the certainty factor affixed to said program intention information and the certainty factor affixed to said change effect determining rules.

6. A program change effect indicating method according to claim 4, wherein said program intention information generating step includes the step of modifying program intention information generated through conversations with a user.

7. A program change effect determining method according to claim 4, said method further comprising the steps of:

storing in a memory information which represents said program intention determining rules and information which represents said change effect determining rules; and

modifying rules stored in accordance with a request from the user.

8. A method according to claim 4, wherein the outputting step includes the step of displaying said change effect information on a display device.