Method and apparatus for automated conformance and enforcement of behavior in application processing systems

• US 5,677,997 A
• Filed: 04/11/1995
• Issued: 10/14/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Medicalmap-Emr, LLC
• Original Assignee: Kirit K. Talatik
• Inventors: Talatik, Kirit K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Downs, Robert W.
• Application Number:
  US08/419,912
• Time in Patent Office: 917 Days
• Field of Search: 395/600, 395/700, 395/10, 395/500, 395/602, 395/604, 395/614, 395/703, 395/683
• US Class Current: 706/45
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2257 using expert systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/34 Recording or statistical evaluation of computer activity, e.g. of down time, of input/output operation ; Recording or statistical evaluation of user activity, e.g. usability assessment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3612 by runtime analysis performance monitoring G06F11/3466
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/10 Requirements analysis; Specification techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4498 Finite state machines
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/466 Transaction processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A model information control system ("MICS") is used in conjunction with a user-defined information model and one or more conventional information system program modules or "functions" to execute business applications. Following each execution of an action defined by the information model, an Expected Behavior Control System ("EBCS") determines if the resulting behavior is consistent with expected behavior and conforms the behavior to the expected behavior if necessary. The EBCS may also change the behavior of an application processing system or application program by enforcing a new behavior for the application processing system or application program without modifying them. The MICS includes an event-action-state machine that manipulates the user-defined information model and the functions.

Claims

1. A method for automatically detecting and correcting logic errors in an information model, the information model defining a process flow for a software application and being executable in a process flow control engine to perform actions having expected behaviors, the method comprising the steps of:

monitoring the behavior associated with execution of a given action;

comparing the monitored behavior associated with execution of the given action to an expected behavior rule to detect a logic error in the information model; and

executing a corrective action in the information model to correct the logic error when the monitored behavior does not follow the expected behavior rule.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the expected behavior rule defines a behavior that should result from execution of the given action.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the expected behavior rule defines a behavior that should not result from execution of the given action.

4. The method of claim 1 further includes the steps of executing the actions of the application programs in accordance with a second expected behavior rule.

5. A method for automatically detecting and correcting logic errors in an object-oriented information model, the information model defining a process flow for a software application and being executable in a process flow control engine to perform actions having expected behaviors, the method comprising the steps of:

monitoring the behavior associated with execution of a set of one or more actions as the information model is executed in the process flow control engine;

comparing the monitored behavior associated with execution of the set to an expected behavior rule to detect a logic error in the information model; and

executing a corrective action in the information model to correct the logic error when a monitored behavior does not follow the expected behavior rule.

6. An expected behavior control system for detecting and correcting logic errors in an information model, the information model defining a process flow for a software application and being executable in a process flow control engine to perform actions having expected behaviors, the system comprising:

an expected behavior function operative as the information model is executed by the process flow control engine for detecting any logic errors in the information model; and

a correction action function operative as the information model is executed by the process flow control engine for executing at least one corrective action in the information model to correct the logic error.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the expected behavior function includes a plurality of rules defining expected behavior of the actions defined by the information model.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the corrective action function includes at least one correction action corresponding to one of the plurality of rules defining an expected behavior.

9. The system of claim 7 wherein the plurality of rules are divided into two groups, the groups comprising:

missing action rules for defining valid actions associated with the execution of the actions; and

invalid action rules for defining invalid actions associated with the execution of the actions.

10. The system of claim 6 wherein the expected behavior function includes at least one rule for enforcing a particular process flow in the information model.

11. A method for enforcing the behavior of a model information control system having at least one information model including at least one action to enable a plurality of users to update a database at the same time, the method comprising the steps of:

processing actions within the information model according to enforcement behavior rules to enforce local updates of attributes within a record of the database by the plurality of users; and

updating the changes to the attributes of the record in the database by adding each of the local updates of each user to the database.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the steps of processing further includes the steps of:

in response to an action requesting an update of the database, reading the database to local storage for local updates by the user; and

waiting to update the database with the local updates until no user conflict exists.

13. The method of claim 11 further including the steps of:

determining if multiple users have attempted to update a same attribute of a same record in the database; and

resolving the conflict according to the enforcement behavior rules.