Method for providing precise cumulative updates and fixes to a software product

• US 6,610,103 B2
• Filed: 01/30/1998
• Issued: 08/26/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: McNeill, Robert Kent, Ehrman, John Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild, Joseph H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bashore, William L.
• Application Number:
  US09/016,368
• Publication Number:
  US 20010056441A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,034 Days
• Field of Search: 715/511, 715/531, 707/203, 707/10, 709/223, 709/217, 709/221, 395/712, 395/500.43, 345/338, 717/1
• US Class Current: 715/256
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/71 Version control security arrangements therefor G06F21/57; Configuration management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/73 Program documentation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

Disclosed is a system for providing information to a user on modifications made to a base software product with a program temporary fix. The program temporary fix is applied to the base software product. The program temporary fix includes informational text describing how the program temporary fix modifies the base software product. The informational text included with the program temporary fix is applied to informational text provided with the base software product to generate cumulative informational text. The cumulative informational text describes the base software product as modified by the program temporary fix. The cumulative informational text may be accessed and presented to the user.

Claims

1. A method for providing information to a user on a software product that includes a base software product and modifications thereto supplied by a program temporary fix, comprising:

(a) applying the program temporary fix to the base software product, wherein the program temporary fix includes fix informational text describing how the program temporary fix modifies the base software product;

(b) applying the fix informational text included with the program temporary fix to base informational text embedded in the software product to generate cumulative informational text, wherein the base informational text describes program functions of the base software product wherein the cumulative informational text describes the base software product as modified by the program temporary fix, and wherein the cumulative informational text includes base information on the program functions unchanged as a result of the program temporary fix and fix information on changes to the program functions resulting from the program temporary fix;

(c) accessing the cumulative informational text; and

(d) presenting the accessed informational text to the user, wherein the presented informational text comprises a portion of the cumulative informational text, including base information on the programs unchanged as a result of the program temporary fix and fix information on changes to the program functions resulting from the temporary fix.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the program temporary fix further comprises at least one update to the software product and wherein the cumulative informational text describes the update to the base software product.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the program temporary fix further comprises at least one fix to the base software product and wherein the cumulative informational text describes the fix to the base software product.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the informational text includes:

a description of a date the program temporary fix was applied to the base software product.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of presenting accessed cumulative informational text to the user includes one or more steps from the group of steps comprising:

printing the informational text;

displaying the informational text;

extracting the informational text; and

searching the informational text.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

applying a second program temporary fix to a cumulative software product comprised of the base software product and the program temporary fix previously applied, wherein the second program temporary fix includes informational text describing how the second program temporary fix modifies the cumulative software product;

applying the informational text included with the second program temporary fix to the cumulative informational text to generate second cumulative informational text, wherein the second cumulative informational text describes the cumulative software product as modified by the second program temporary fix;

accessing the second cumulative informational text; and

presenting the accessed informational text to the user.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the generated cumulative informational text is embedded within the software product.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the fix informational text is embedded within the program temporary fix.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the steps of applying the program temporary fix to the base product, applying the fix informational text included with the program temporary fix to the base informational text, accessing the cumulative informational text, and presenting the accessed informational text to the user are performed by an application program embedded within the software product.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the fix informational text is applied to the base informational text when the program temporary fix is applied to the base product.

11. A computer programming apparatus for providing information to a user on a software product that includes a base software product and modifications thereto supplied by a program temporary fix, comprising:

(a) a computer having a memory;

(b) means, performed by the computer, for receiving the program temporary fix into the memory, wherein the program temporary fix includes fix informational text describing how the program temporary fix modifies the base software product;

(c) means, performed by the computer, for applying the program temporary fix to the base software product;

(d) means, performed by the computer, for applying the fix informational text included with the program temporary fix to base informational text embedded in the base software product to generate cumulative informational text into the memory, wherein the base informational text describes program functions of the base software product, wherein the cumulative informational text describes the base software product as modified by the program temporary fix, and wherein the cumulative informational text includes base information on the program functions unchanged as a result of the program temporary fix and fix information on changes to the program functions resulting from the program temporary fix;

(e) means, performed by the computer, for accessing the cumulative informational text in the memory; and

(f) means, performed by the computer, for presenting the accessed informational text to the user, wherein the presented informational text comprises any of the cumulative informational text, including base information on the programs unchanged as a result of the program temporary fix and fix information on changes to the program functions resulting from the temporary fix.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the program temporary fix further comprises at least one update to the base software product and wherein the cumulative informational text describes the update to the base software product.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the program temporary fix further comprises at least one fix to the base software product and wherein the cumulative informational text describes the fix to the base software product.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the informational text includes:

a description of a date the program temporary fix was applied to the base software product.

15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the means, performed by the computer, for presenting cumulative informational text, further includes:

means, performed by the computer, for printing the informational text;

means, performed by the computer, for displaying the informational text;

means, performed by the computer, for extracting the informational text; and

means, performed by the computer, for searching the informational text.

16. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising:

means, performed by the computer, for receiving a second program temporary fix into the memory, wherein the second program temporary fix includes informational text;

means, performed by the computer, for applying the second program temporary fix to a cumulative software product comprised of the base software product and the program temporary fix previously applied, wherein the informational text provided with the second program temporary fix describes how the second program temporary fix modifies the cumulative software product;

means, performed by the computer, for applying the informational text provided with the second program temporary fix to the cumulative informational text to generate second cumulative informational text, wherein the second cumulative informational text describes the cumulative software product as modified by the second program temporary fix;

accessing the second cumulative informational text; and

presenting the accessed informational text to the user.

17. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the generated cumulative informational text is embedded within the software product.

18. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the fix informational text is embedded within the program temporary fix.

19. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the means for applying the program temporary fix to the base product, applying the fix informational text included with the program temporary fix to the base informational text, accessing the cumulative informational text, and presenting the accessed informational text to the user are performed by an application program embedded within the software product.

20. The system of claim 11, wherein the fix informational text is applied to the base informational text when the program temporary fix is applied to the base product.

21. An article of manufacture for use in programming a computer to provide information to a user on a software product that includes a base software product and modifications thereto supplied by a program temporary fix for use in programming a computer, the article of manufacture comprising a computer readable storage medium having a computer program embodied therein that causes the computer to perform:

(a) applying the program temporary fix to the base software product, wherein the program temporary fix includes informational text describing how the program temporary fix modifies the base software product;

(b) applying the informational text included with the program temporary fix to base informational text embedded in the base software product to generate cumulative informational text, wherein the base informational text describes program functions of the base software product, wherein the cumulative informational text describes the software product as modified by the program temporary fix, and wherein the cumulative informational text includes base information on the program functions unchanged as a result of the program temporary fix and fix information on changes to the program functions resulting from the program temporary fix;

(c) accessing the cumulative informational text; and

(d) presenting the accessed informational text to the user, wherein the presented informational text comprises any of the cumulative informational text, including base information on the programs unchanged as a result of the program temporary fix and fix information on changes to the program functions resulting from the temporary fix.

22. The article of manufacture of claim 21, wherein the program temporary fix further comprises at least one update to the base software product and wherein the cumulative informational text describes the update to the base software product.

23. The article of manufacture of claim 21, wherein the program temporary fix further comprises at least one fix to the base software product and wherein the cumulative informational text describes the fix to the base software product.

24. The article of manufacture of claim 21, wherein the informational text includes:

a description of a date the program temporary fix was applied to the base software product.

25. The article of manufacture of claim 21, wherein the step of presenting accessed cumulative informational text to the user includes one or more steps from the group of steps comprising:

printing the informational text;

displaying the informational text;

extracting the informational text; and

searching the informational text.

26. The article of manufacture of claim 21, wherein the computer program further causes the computer to perform the steps of:

applying a second program temporary fix to a cumulative software product comprised of the base software product and the program temporary fix previously applied, wherein the second program temporary fix includes informational text describing how the second program temporary fix modifies the cumulative software product;

applying the informational text included with the second program temporary fix to the cumulative informational text to generate second cumulative informational text, wherein the second cumulative informational text describes the cumulative software product as modified by the second program temporary fix;

accessing the second cumulative informational text; and

presenting the accessed informational text to the user.

27. The article of manufacture of claim 21, wherein the generated cumulative informational text is embedded within the software product.

28. The article of manufacture of claim 21, wherein the fix informational text is embedded within the program temporary fix.

29. The article of manufacture of claim 21, wherein the steps of applying the program temporary fix to the base product, applying the fix informational text included with the program temporary fix to the base informational text, accessing the cumulative informational text, and presenting the accessed informational text to the user are performed by an application program embedded within the software product.

30. The article of manufacture of claim 21, wherein the fix informational text is applied to the base informational text when the program temporary fix is applied to the base product.

31. A method for providing information to a user on a software product that includes a base software product and modifications thereto supplied by a program temporary fix, comprising:

(a) applying the program temporary fix to the base software product, wherein the program temporary fix includes fix informational text describing how the program temporary fix modifies the base software product;

(b) applying the fix informational text included with the program temporary fix to base informational text embedded in the software product when applying the program temporary fix to generate cumulative informational text, wherein the base informational text describes program functions of the base software product, wherein the cumulative informational text describes the base software product as modified by the program temporary fix;

(c) accessing the cumulative informational text; and

(d) presenting the accessed informational text to the user, wherein the presented informational text comprises a portion of the cumulative informational text, including base information on the programs unchanged as a result of the program temporary fix and fix information on changes to the program functions resulting from the temporary fix.

32. An article of manufacture for providing information to a user on a software product that includes a base software product and modifications thereto supplied by a program temporary fix, comprising:

(a) applying the program temporary fix to the base software product, wherein the program temporary fix includes fix informational text describing how the program temporary fix modifies the base software product;

(b) applying the fix informational text included with the program temporary fix to base informational text embedded in the software product when applying the program temporary fix to generate cumulative informational text, wherein the base informational text describes program functions of the base software product, wherein the cumulative informational text describes the base software product as modified by the program temporary fix;

(c) accessing the cumulative informational text; and

(d) presenting the accessed informational text to the user, wherein the presented informational text comprises a portion of the cumulative informational text, including base information on the programs unchanged as a result of the program temporary fix and fix information on changes to the program functions resulting from the temporary fix.