Software system management device for maintaining revisions of a source code

• US 5,956,732 A
• Filed: 06/27/1997
• Issued: 09/21/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Tsuchida, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Min, Donald
• Application Number:
  US08/884,574
• Time in Patent Office: 816 Days
• Field of Search: 395/601, 395/616, 395/619, 395/701, 395/703, 395/712, 707/200, 707/203, 707/204, 707/10
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/71 Version control security arrangements therefor G06F21/57; Configuration management
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99954 Version management

Abstract

A software management system is provided which enables the configuration of a software system to be checked on a specification level and the difference between two software systems to be identified easily. A system name and a system revision for each client to which the system has been released as well as a specification name and a specification revision for each system revision are registered in a configuration storage. And the name, all of the existing revisions and contents of each specification are registered in a specification storage. A data reference means outputs the contents of the configuration storage or the specification storage to a display device according to a data reference request from an input device such as a keyboard, and also outputs the difference in the name and revision of the specifications of two software systems input from the input device, and/or the contents of the specifications.

Claims

1. A software managing method implemented in a software management device, said software management device being connected to an input device, an output device and a memory, said memory including a configuration storage, said method comprising the steps of:

storing in said configuration storage a system identifier and a specification identifier corresponding to said system identifier, said specification identifier corresponding to said system identifier when a source program identified by said specification identifier is included in a system identified by said system identifier;

receiving a data reference command from said input device; and

outputting specification information to said output device in response to said data reference command,

said system identifier comprising information of system revisions for clients to which the system has been released,

said specification identifier comprising information of specification revisions of each specification corresponding on a one-to-one basis to source programs constituting each of said system revisions, wherein said specification comprises information for producing a source code of said source program.

2. A method according to claim 1, said step for outputting comprises the steps of:

receiving a system identifier from said input device;

reading from said configuration storage a specification identifier corresponding to said system identifier; and

outputting said specification identifier to said output device.

3. A method according to claim 1 wherein said system identifier includes a system name and a system revision, said step for outputting comprises the steps of:

receiving a system name from said input device;

reading from said configuration storage a system identifier including said system name; and

outputting a system revision included in said system identifier to said output device.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein said memory has a specification storage for storing said specification identifier, said specification identifier includes a specification name and a specification revision, said step for outputting comprises the steps of:

receiving a specification name from said input device;

reading from said specification storage a specification identifier including said specification name; and

outputting a specification revision included in said specification identifier to said output device.

5. A method according to claim 1, said step for outputting comprising steps of:

receiving a specification identifier;

reading from said configuration storage a system identifier corresponding to said specification identifier; and

outputting said system identifier to said output device.

6. A method according to claim 1, said step for outputting comprising the steps of:

receiving first and second system identifiers of first and second software systems from said input device;

reading from said configuration storage a first group of specification identifiers corresponding to said first system identifier;

reading from said configuration storage a second group of specification identifiers corresponding to said second system identifier; and

comparing specification identifiers included in said first and second groups for determining a difference between said first and second groups; and

outputting said difference between said first and second groups to said output device.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein said step for outputting comprises the step of:

outputting to said output device a specification identifier included in both said first and second groups.

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein said step for outputting a specification identifier comprises the step of:

outputting to said output device a comment stating that said first and second software systems include identical source programs.

9. A method according to claim 6, wherein said step for outputting comprises the step of:

outputting to said output device a specification identifier included only in said first group.

10. A method according to claim 9, wherein said step for outputting a specification identifier comprises the step of:

outputting to said output device a comment stating that a source program corresponding to said specification identifier is added to said first software system.

11. A method according to claim 6, wherein said step for outputting comprises the step of:

outputting to said output device a first specification identifier in said first group when said second group includes a specification identifier including the same specification name as said first specification identifier but including a different specification name.

12. A method according to claim 11, wherein said step for outputting a first specification identifier comprises the step of:

outputting to said output device a comment stating that said first and second software systems include different versions of a source program.

13. A method according to claim 1, wherein said memory has a specification storage for storing said specification identifier and a content of a specification identified by said specification identifier, said step for outputting comprises a steps of:

reading from said specification storage the content of a specification; and

outputting said content to said output device.

25. The software managing method as in claim 1, wherein said specification comprises a statement of data available from processing and required outputs.

14. A software management device comprising:

a storage device having a configuration storage and a specification storage, said configuration storage storing a system name and system revisions for clients to which the system has been released and storing specification names and specification revisions corresponding on a one-to-one basis to source programs constituting each system revision of said system revisions, said specification storage storing a specification name and specification revisions of each specification, wherein said specification comprises information for producing a source code of said source programs;

an input device;

an output device;

data registration means for registering data in said configuration storage and said specification storage according to input information from said input device; and

data reference means for outputting a content of said configuration storage and said specification storage according to data reference requests from said input device.

15. A software management device according to claim 14, wherein said data reference means references a name and revision of the specification constituting the first software system identified by the system name and revision specified in a data reference request from said input device and the second software system identified by the system name and revision specified in the request to output the difference in the name and revision of the specifications constituting the first and second software systems.

16. A software management device comprising:

a storage device having a configuration storage and a specification storage, said configuration storage storing a system name and system revisions for clients to which the system has been released and storing specification names and specification revisions corresponding on a one-to-one basis to source programs constituting each system revision of said system revisions, said specification storage storing a specification name, specification revisions of each specification, and contents of each specification, wherein said specification comprises information for producing a source code of said source programs;

an input device;

an output device;

data registration means for registering data in said configuration storage and said specification storage according to input information from said input device; and

data reference means for outputting a content of said configuration storage and said specification storage according to data reference requests from said input device.

17. A software management device according to claim 16, wherein said data reference means references said name and revision of the specification constituting the first software system identified by the system name and revision specified in a data reference request from said input device and the second software system identified by the system name and revision specified in the request to output the difference in said name, revision, and contents of the specifications constituting the first and second software systems.

18. A software managing method implemented in a software management device, said software management device being connected to an input device, an output device and a memory, said memory including a configuration storage and a specification storage, said method comprising the steps of:

receiving a data registration command from said input device for registering a software system;

storing in said configuration storage a system identifier and at least one specification identifier corresponding to said system identifier input from said input device; and

storing in said specification storage a content of a specification identified by said specification identifier, the content of the specification stored in said specification storage being linked to the specification identifier stored in said configuration storage,

said system identifier comprising information of system revisions for clients to which the system has been released,

said specification identifier comprising information of specification revisions of each specification corresponding on a one-to-one basis to source programs constituting each of said system revisions, wherein said specification comprises information for producing a source code of said source program.

19. The software managing method recited in claim 18 wherein the step of receiving a data registration command further includes the step of prompting the user to input a system configuration of the software system and the content of the specification.

20. The software managing method recited in claim 19 wherein the step of prompting the user includes prompting for input of a system revision identifier and prompting for input of a specification revision identifier, and wherein the step of storing in said configuration storage includes storing the system revision with said system identifier and storing the specification revision with said specification identifier.

21. The software managing method recited in claim 20 further comprising the steps of:

determining whether a same system identifier as a user input system identifier has been previously registered in said configuration storage; and

registering the user input system identifier by storing the user input system identifier in said configuration storage if not previously registered in said configuration storage.

22. The software managing method recited in claim 21 further comprising the steps of:

determining whether a same specification identifier as a user input specification identifier has been previously registered in said configuration storage; and

registering the user input specification identifier by storing the user input specification identifier in said configuration storage if not previously registered in said configuration storage.

23. The software managing method recited in claim 22 further comprising the steps of:

determining whether a same specification revision as a user input specification revision has been previously registered in said configuration storage; and

registering the user input specification by storing the user input content of the specification in said specification storage if not previously registered in said configuration storage.

24. A software managing method implemented in a software management device, said software management device being connected to an input device, an output device and a memory, said memory including a configuration storage, said method comprising the steps of:

receiving a data registration command from said input device and registering data in said configuration storage of said memory according to information input from the input device; and

storing in said configuration storage a system identifier and a specification identifier corresponding to said system identifier when a source program identified by said specification identifier is included in a system identified by said system identifier,

said system identifier comprising information of system revisions for clients to which the system has been released,

said specification identifier comprising information of specification revisions of each specification corresponding on a one-to-one basis to source programs constituting each of said system revisions, wherein said specification comprises information for producing a source code of said source program.