Method and apparatus for representing data dependencies in software modeling systems
First Claim
1. A method for providing parametric capabilities to a software modeling system having a plurality of functions and a user interface that responds to receipt of each one of a plurality of commands by calling a corresponding one of the plurality of functions, the plurality of functions being executed during a modeling session to create a model, the method including steps of:
- A. providing a wrapper around each of the plurality of functions in the software system to create a corresponding plurality of associative functions, each of the associative functions including a call to its corresponding function and further including a capability of creating and adding graph entities to a dependency representation of the model when its corresponding function is executed during the modeling session; and
B. modifying the user interface so that in response to each received command, the associative function that corresponds to the function corresponding to the received command is called.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for converting a set of functions of any software system that does modeling into a corresponding set of parametric functions that, when called, generate not only a resulting model, but also a dependency graph representation of the model. The dependency graph can include directed functions and non-directed constraint relationships, and is used when a change is made to the model so that only affected portions of the model are reevaluated. The dependency graph can be visually presented to a user, and can be created or edited through a visual programming environment. The graph can be modified to change either input values to the model, or the graph elements that represent the functions used in creating the model. When changes to the dependency graph are made, it can be reevaluated to incorporate the changes into the model. When the visual programming environment is used to modify the graph, the environment calls the parametric set of functions. The set of parametric functions is generated by creating wrappers in a standard programming language around the functions of the software system. The dependency graph can also be used to generate a computer program in a standard language that, when executed on the software system, regenerates the model as well as the dependency representation. The computer program can also be edited and then executed on the software system to generate a modified version of the model.
163 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method for providing parametric capabilities to a software modeling system having a plurality of functions and a user interface that responds to receipt of each one of a plurality of commands by calling a corresponding one of the plurality of functions, the plurality of functions being executed during a modeling session to create a model, the method including steps of:
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A. providing a wrapper around each of the plurality of functions in the software system to create a corresponding plurality of associative functions, each of the associative functions including a call to its corresponding function and further including a capability of creating and adding graph entities to a dependency representation of the model when its corresponding function is executed during the modeling session; and B. modifying the user interface so that in response to each received command, the associative function that corresponds to the function corresponding to the received command is called. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A software modeling system for creating a model during a modeling session, the model being formed from a plurality of design entities, the software modeling system comprising:
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a processor having a plurality of functions that are executed thereon to create the plurality of design entities that form the model; a user interface that responds to receipt of each one of a plurality of commands by calling a corresponding one of the plurality of functions; a wrapper around each of the plurality of functions that creates a corresponding plurality of associative functions, each of the associative functions including a call to its corresponding function, each of the associative functions further including means for creating and adding entries to a dependency representation when its corresponding function is executed during the modeling session, the dependency representation indicating dependencies of the plurality of design entities that form the design; and means for modifying the user interface so that in response to each received command, the associative function that corresponds to the function corresponding to the received command is called. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification