Dynamic semi-structured repository for mining software and software-related information

• US 6,339,776 B2
• Filed: 10/04/1999
• Issued: 01/15/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Jurisica, Igor, Dayani-Fard, Homayoun
• Primary Examiner(s): Corrielus, Jean M.
• Application Number:
  US09/411,998
• Publication Number:
  US 20010042067A1
• Time in Patent Office: 834 Days
• Field of Search: 717/1-11, 707/2, 707/3, 707/5, 707/102, 707/104, 707/6, 395/708, 705/26-27
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/74 Reverse engineering; Extracting design information from source code
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A repository-based reverse engineering system for software systems and particularly legacy software systems. The reverse engineering system includes a graph-based data repository which holds data extracted from the source code in the software system. The graph-based data repository holds the data in a semi-structured form. The reverse engineering system includes mechanisms for constructing views on top of the extracted data and mechanisms for creating model abstractions on top of the views. The graph-based data repository provides flexible search and browse capabilities including pattern matching, structural searching, fuzzy and incomplete searching, and similarity-based searching. The system further includes an interface facility for external tools. The repository-based reverse engineering system enables integration of heterogeneous information sources, integration of external visualization and analytical tools, and searching and browsing facilities.

Claims

1. A reverse engineering system for reverse engineering a software system, said reverse engineering system comprising:

(a) means for extracting information related to said software system;

(b) means for constructing semi-structured forms of said extracted information based on syntax of said extracted information, wherein said constructed semi-structured forms are constructed views of said extracted information; and

(c) means for deriving representations of said constructed semi-structured forms based on semantics of said extracted information, wherein said derived representations are abstract models of said constructed views.

2. The reverse engineering system of claim 1 further comprising means for updating said constructed semi-structured forms.

3. The reverse engineering system of claim 2 further comprising means for updating said derived representations.

4. The reverse engineering system as claimed in claim 3 further including:

relational database means for storing said extracted information; and

relational query means for querying said extracted information being stored in said relational database means.

5. The reverse engineering system as claimed in claim 3 further including an interface for interfacing external tools to provide access to said extracted information.

6. The reverse engineering system as claimed in claim 5 further including a knowledge subsystem for storing definitional data related to said extracted information.

7. The reverse engineering system as claimed in claim 6 further including a trace and replay subsystem for tracing and replaying operations associated with said extracted information.

8. The reverse engineering system as claimed in claim 6 further including an information retrieval subsystem comprising a dictionary of labels for use by external information retrieval systems.

9. The reverse engineering system of claim 1 wherein said software system comprises:

program source code files each written in a programming language; and

description files for describing aspects of said program source code files.

10. The reverse engineering system of claim 9 wherein said description files include change history data of said program source code files.

11. The reverse engineering system as claimed in claim 10 wherein said means for constructing semi-structured forms comprises a graph-based data repository.

12. The reverse engineering system as claimed in claim 11 further including means for searching said graph-based data repository.

13. The reverse engineering system as claimed in claim 12 wherein said means for searching includes means for performing a regular expression search on said graph-based data repository.

14. The reverse engineering system as claimed in claim 13 wherein said means for searching further includes means for performing similarity-based retrieval searches on said graph-based data repository.

15. The reverse engineering system as claimed in claim 11 wherein said abstract models comprise one or more views of said extracted information being contained in said graph-based data repository.

16. The reverse engineering system as claimed in claim 15 further including means for creating another level of abstract models on top of said views.

17. A method for reverse engineering a software system, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) extracting information related to said software system;

(b) constructing semi-structured forms of said extracted information based on syntax of said extracted information, wherein said constructed semi-structured forms are constructed views of said extracted information; and

(c) deriving representations of said constructed semi-structured forms based on semantics of said extracted information, wherein said derived representations are abstract models of said constructed views.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising the step of updating said constructed representations.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising the step of updating said derived representations.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein said software system comprises:

program source code files each written in a programming language; and

description files for describing aspects of said program source code files.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein said description files include change history data of said program source code files.

22. The method as claimed in claim 21 wherein said step of constructing semi-structured forms comprises a graph-based data repository.

23. The method as claimed in claim 22 further including the step of searching said graph-based repository, said step of searching including performing a regular expression search or similarity-based search.

24. The method as claimed in claim 23 wherein said step of deriving representations comprises constructing one or more views of constructed semi-structured forms contained in said graph-based data repository.

25. The method as claimed in claim 21 further including the step of constructing said semi-structured forms in a relational database.

26. The method as claimed in claim 25 further including the step of performing relational queries on said extracted information contained in said relational database.

27. The method as claimed in claim 26 further including the step of extracting information from said relational queries and storing said extracted information of said relational queries in said graph-based repository.

28. Data storage media recorded with a computer program which, in combination with a general purpose computer configured for a system for reverse engineering a software system, said computer being equipped to read into memory and execute program data from the data storage media, constituting a method in accordance with any of claims 17 to 19, and 20 to 27.