System and method for defining and managing reusable groups software constructs within an object management system

• US 6,427,230 B1
• Filed: 11/09/1998
• Issued: 07/30/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Unisys Corporation
• Original Assignee: Unisys Corporation
• Inventors: Johnson, David R., Goiffon, David A.
• Primary Examiner(s): CHOULES, JACK M
• Application Number:
  US09/188,514
• Time in Patent Office: 1,359 Days
• Field of Search: 707/103, 717/107, 717/108, 717/109, 717/110, 717/113, 717/106
• US Class Current: 717/108
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/36 Software reuse

Abstract

A system for maintaining an object repository within an object management system where the objects are software constructs and the system provides a set of tools for creating packages of the objects that can be reused as well as monitored as they are changed or recombined. The packages themselves become new objects for the repository to store. The set of relationships within a package is also stored as are any relationships between any of the objects within the object management system object repository.

Claims

1. For use in a object management system having an object repository memory, the object management system for modeling software constructs by storing in the object repository memory, for each of the software constructs, a respective element including data signals descriptive of a respective one of the software constructs, wherein said ones of the software constructs having predefined functional relationships with one or more other related ones of the software constructs, and wherein each of the predefined relationships are modeled by storing in the object repository memory a respective relationship indicator representing an element relationship between respective elements modeling the related ones of the software constructs, a system for creating and managing reusable groups of software constructs, comprising:

user interface means for providing an indication to a user of a selected set of elements, and for providing an indication of any respective element relationship existing between an element in said selected set of elements and a related one of the elements, and further for providing an indication of any said related one of the elements;

element selection means for allowing a user to determine which of any said related one of the elements to be included within, or omitted from a user selected set of elements selectable by said user from said selected set of elements, and whereby said user interface means provides, for any said related one of the elements included within said selected set of elements, an indication to said user of any said respective element relationship, and further for providing an indication of any said related one of the elements; and

package creation means for storing in the object repository memory an indication that all elements in said selected set of elements are included in a package element created by said package creation means from said user selected set of elements and from said indication that all elements in said selected set of elements are included.

2. The system of claim 1, and further comprising element identification means for identifying an initial set of elements to be included in said selected set of elements, whereby each element in said initial set of elements models a respective software construct associated with a predetermined software function wherein said predetermined software function is selectable by said user.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said user interface means includes display means for graphically displaying said selected set of elements, for graphically displaying said any respective element relationship existing between any element in said selected set of elements and a related one of the elements, and further for displaying each said related one of the elements.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said element selection means includes filter means for allowing a logical expression to be specified that can be applied against the data signals included within each said related one of the elements to determine whether said each related one of the elements is to be included within, or omitted from, said selected set of elements.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein each element may include attribute data signals descriptive of the respective one of the software constructs, and wherein said filter means includes attribute filter means for allowing said logical expression to be specified in terms of said attribute data signals included within any said related one of the elements.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein said filter means includes relationship filter means for allowing a logical expression to be specified in terms of any relationship indicator indicating a relationship between any said related one of the elements and any respective one of said selected set of elements.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein said package creation means includes element creation means upon creating an element that is a package element, said package creation means further for creating as an aggregation relationship an element relationship between said package element and each respective element in said selected set of elements.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the set of software constructs modeled by said selected set of elements has a predefined external interface, and wherein said package creation means includes relationship attribute means for designating predetermined ones of said aggregation relationships as interface element relationships, wherein each said interface element relationship indicates that the software construct modeled by a respective element associated with said each interface element relationship has a predefined functional relationship to one or more other related ones of the software constructs, and wherein said predefined functional relationship is used to define said predefined external interface.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein said package creation means includes interface specification creation means for creating for each said package element a package interface specification describing said predefined external interface, said interface specification being created using said interface element relationships.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein predetermined ones of the elements in said selected set of elements may each include as ones of the data signals a respective element interface specification describing an external interface for the respective software construct, and wherein said interface specification creation means includes means for using said respective element interface specification for a respective element associated with any said interface element relationship to create said package interface specification.

11. In an object management system for cataloging and managing software constructs, wherein each of the software constructs is associated with one or more respective functions, the object management system having a repository to store objects, each of the objects to model a respective one of the software constructs and each to include data signals descriptive of the respective one of the software constructs, wherein predetermined ones of the software constructs are related ones of the software constructs each having an interdependency with one or more other related ones of the software constructs, each interdependency modeled by an object relationship stored in the repository and existing between respective related ones of the objects modeling the related ones of the software constructs, a method of defining a reusable group of the software constructs, comprising the steps of:

a) selecting a set of objects, each of the objects in said set of objects modeling a respective one of the software constructs associated with a user-specified one of the functions;

b) identifying, for each of the objects in said set of objects, any respective related ones of the objects;

c) adding predetermined identified ones of the objects identified in step b) to said set of objects;

d) repeating steps a-c until said set of objects includes all objects that model a respective one of the software constructs that a user determines is necessary to implement said user-specified one of the functions, and

e) adding a package object to said repository.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said step (b) includes the step of identifying, for each of the objects in said set of objects, any object relationship existing between said each of the objects in said set and any respective related ones of the objects.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said step (c) includes the step of selectively adding said predetermined identified ones of the objects to said set of objects by specifying selected ones of the object relationships identified in said step (b) that are associated with said predetermined identified ones of the objects.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said step (c) includes the step of defining a filter for automatically specifying said selected ones of the object relationships.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said filter of said step (c) includes Boolean operators.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein ones of the data signals included in each of the objects may be attribute signals indicative of an attribute associated with the respective one of the software constructs, and wherein said step (c) includes the step of selectively adding said predetermined identified ones of the objects to said set of objects based on values of the attribute signals stored in said predetermined identified ones of the objects.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said step (c) further includes the step of defining a filter for automatically specifying said values of the attribute signals.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein said filter of said step (c) includes Boolean operators.

19. The method of claim 11, and wherein said step (e) comprises recording within the repository which objects are included in said set of objects.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the recording step includes the step of creating as a package object an object modeling said set of objects, wherein said package object is stored in the repository.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the recording step further includes the step of creating, for each of the objects in said set of objects, an object relationship existing between said package object and said each of the objects in said set of objects, said object relationship being stored in the repository.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein said user-specified one of the functions may be described by an interface specification defining an external callable interface of said user-specified one of the functions, and wherein ones of said object relationships created between said package object and said each of the objects in said set of objects are designated as interface object relationships for use in modeling said interface specification.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein said interface specification is stored as ones of the data signals included in said package object.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein said set of objects that includes all objects modeling a respective one of the software constructs that is necessary to implement said user-specified one of the functions may include one or more of said package objects.