Object management system supporting the use of application domain knowledge mapped to technology domain knowledge

• US 6,226,792 B1
• Filed: 10/14/1998
• Issued: 05/01/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Unisys Corporation
• Original Assignee: Unisys Corporation
• Inventors: Johnson, David R., Hartmann, Gerald E., Goiffon, David A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chaki, Kakali
• Assistant Examiner(s): ZHEN, WEI Y
• Application Number:
  US09/173,095
• Time in Patent Office: 930 Days
• Field of Search: 717/11, 717/3, 707/1, 707/200, 707/204, 707/574, 706/45
• US Class Current: 717/120
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/36 Software reuse

Abstract

An object management system is providing for managing, cataloging, and discovering various potentially reusable code and data components that exist within an Information Technology (IT) platform, and which each have well-defined interfaces with other components. For each of these re-usable code and data components, an associated software object called an “asset element” is created that describes the associated component. Relationships are created between various asset elements to represent the relationships existing between the software components. Other software objects called “locator elements” are created that each describes an application concept or sub-concept. This application concept or sub-concept is associated with a problem solved by the code and data components within the IT platform. Relationships are created between the various locator elements to correlate the concepts and sub-concepts to software constructs represented by asset elements. The object management system further supports various object discovery tools capable of identifying locator elements associated with a particular concept. These locator elements and the associated relationships may then be efficiently traced to identify related asset elements and the associated software and code constructs. This provides an efficient concept-based search mechanism for the code constructs. Other tools are provided for creating, modifying, and deleting the elements. A model may be used to define the various types of relationships and elements that may exist within the system, thereby simplifying the various tools needed to support element creation, modification, deletion, and traversal.

Claims

1. For use in a system having a memory for storing modules containing data signals, each of the modules being identifiable as a respective type of software construct for performing one or more functions, an object management system for managing the modules, comprising:

a first memory to store asset elements, each of the asset elements comprising data signals descriptive of a respectively associated one of the modules; and

a second memory coupled to said first memory to store locator elements, each of said locator elements including concept signals indicative of a respective one of the one or more functions, each of said locator elements further comprising first relationship signals indicative of one or more first relationships, each of said first relationships existing between said each of said locator elements and a respectively related other one of said locator elements, at least one of said locator elements further including second relationship signals indicative of a second relationship between said at least one of said locator elements and a respectively related one of said asset elements, wherein said at least one of said locator elements includes concept signals indicative of one of the one or more functions that may be performed by the module that is respectively associated with said respectively related one of said asset elements,

and further including element locator means coupled to said second memory to search each of said locator elements to identify a selected one of said locator elements including concept signals indicative of a selected one of the one or more functions, said element locator means to further identify, for said selected one of said locator elements, any said respectively related one of said asset elements.

wherein said element locator means further includes selection means to selectably cause said element locator means to identify, for said selected locator element, one or more of said respectively related other ones of said locator elements, and to further identify for each of said respectively related other ones of said locator elements any said respectively related one of said asset elements, and user interface means to allow said selected one of the one or more functions to be provided as input by a user of the object management system, and

wherein each of said first relationships forms a branch in a hierarchical tree structure having multiple levels, and wherein said element locator means further includes level selection means for causing said element locator means to identify predetermined ones of said locator elements located within said hierarchical tree structure not more than a selected number of said multiple levels from said selected one of said locator elements, and for further causing said element locator means to identify, for each identified one of said locator elements, any said respectively related one of said asset elements.

2. The object management system of claim 1, and further including display means coupled to said user interface means for displaying each of said identified ones of said locator elements prior to identifying any said respectively related one of said asset elements.

3. The object management system of claim 2, wherein said user interface means further includes control means to allow a user of said object management system to deselect any of said identified ones of said locator elements to prevent any said respectively related one of said asset elements from being identified.

4. The object management system of claim 1, wherein ones of said data signals included within each of said asset elements are element name signals indicative of a type of software construct performed by said module associated with said each of said asset elements, and wherein ones of said locator elements each stores, for said respectively related one of said asset elements, said element name signals.

5. The object management system of claim 1, wherein said management system further includes a third memory coupled to said first memory and to said second memory to store element type definitions, each of said element type definitions to define a type of asset element or a type of a locator element, and wherein each of said asset elements and each of said locator elements are associated with a respective one of said element type definitions.

6. For use with a data processing system having a memory coupled to an instruction processor, the memory to store modules, ones of the modules storing instructions to be executed by the processor, other ones of the modules storing data signals to be processed by the processor, each of the modules having one or more predefined interfaces to other ones of the modules, and each of the modules structured as an associated Predetermined software construct and being associated with one or more tasks to be performed by the data processing system, a computer-implemented method of managing the modules, comprising the steps of:

(a) defining as an asset element a group of data signals descriptive of a respectively associated one of the modules, wherein said grout of data signals is indicative of the type of software construct associated with said respectively associated one of the modules;

(b) defining as a locator element a group of concept data signals descriptive of a respectively associated one of the one or more tasks to be performed by the data processing system, and defining multiple ones of said locator elements, each to store ones of said conceit data signals being descriptive of a different associated one of the one or more tasks to be performed by the data processing system and further defining, for each of said multiple ones of said locator elements, locator relationship signals indicative of one or more relationships existing between said each of said locator elements and one or more other ones of said locator elements, and whereby said one or more relationships existing for each of said locator elements defines a multi-level hierarchical tree structure wherein each of said locator elements is a node in said multi-level hierarchical tree structure and each of said one or more relationships is a branch in said multi-level hierarchical tree structure

(c) defining a group of relationship signals to be included within said locator element which are indicative of a relationship between said locator element and said asset element, and whereby said respectively associated one of the one or more tasks is mapped to said asset element, and is further mapped to said respectively associated one of the modules and defining multiple groups of said relationship signals, each to be included within a respectively different one of said locator elements, each being indicative of a relationship between said respectively different one of said locator elements and a respectively associated one of said asset elements, and whereby the one or more tasks described by said respectively different one of said locator elements is mapped to said respectively associated one of said asset elements, and is further mapped to said respectively associated one of the modules,

(d) receiving as an input parameter a selected group of concept data signals;

(e) receiving as an input parameter a selected number of levels in said multi-level hierarchical tree structure;

(f) identifying one of said locator elements that includes said selected group of concept data signals;

(g) identifying all of said locator elements having predetermined relationships to the identified locator element located in step (f) and that exist not more than said selected number of levels in said multi-level hierarchical tree structure from said locator element identified in step (f);

(h) locating, for each of the locator elements identified in steps (f) and (g), any said respectively associated ones of said asset elements; and

(j) identifying, for said respectively associated one of said asset elements, said respectively associated one of the modules.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein step (g) further includes the steps of:

(g1) providing a list of identified locator elements; and

(g2) allowing for de-selection of any of said identified locator elements in said list, whereby said de-selection of any of said identified locator elements thereafter prevents any of said respectively associated ones of said asset elements from being located for a de-selected one of said locator elements.