Real time monitoring system for tracking and documenting changes made by programmer's during maintenance or development of computer readable code on a line by line basis and/or by point of focus

• US 6,698,013 B1
• Filed: 10/04/2000
• Issued: 02/24/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mintaka Technology Group
• Original Assignee: Mintaka Technology Group
• Inventors: Rosenberg, Milton D., Bertero, Anthony R.
• Primary Examiner(s): INGBERG, TODD D
• Application Number:
  US09/679,132
• Time in Patent Office: 1,238 Days
• Field of Search: 717/122, 717/127, 717/120, 717/100, 717/101, 709/317, 706/16, 707/6
• US Class Current: 717/127
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/71 Version control security arrangements therefor G06F21/57; Configuration management

Abstract

A method and system for documenting and tracking user interaction with computer readable code during modification or development of computer software is described. The invention provides a controlled environment for recording detailed information about user actions and events that occur during the maintenance and development of computer readable code. Features of the invention facilitate the entry of comments, review, and modification of the computer readable code. Embodiments of the invention, in real time, monitor, record, and report changes made to software modules at a line-by-line level. The nature and context of changes made to lines of code and any search requests are identified and recorded in one or more databases for review and reporting.

Claims

1. In a computing system, a method for tracking user interaction with computer readable code, said method comprising:

monitoring user interaction with computer readable code;

recording information about the type of the user interaction;

if the user interaction relates to a point of focus in a first position in the computer readable code, then recording information about said first position;

if the point of focus changes from said first position to a second position in the computer readable code, then determining if the content of the point of focus in said first position has changed; and

if the content of the point of focus in said first position has changed, then recording information about the content of the point of focus in said first position.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein

if the user interaction relates to a point of focus in a first position, then

recording an attribute defining the relationship between the user interaction and the point of focus in said first position.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

in association with said user interaction, if the content of the point of focus in said first position has changed then recording the content of the point of focus in said first position before the change.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

in association with said user interaction, if the content of the point of focus in said first position has changed then recording the content of the point of focus in said first position after the change.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the user interaction comprises an action taken by the user during maintenance or development of computer readable code.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the user interaction further comprises an event resulting from an action taken by the user during maintenance or development of computer readable code.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

recording a term, if the user interaction includes a request to search for the term in the computer readable code.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

recording information about the identity of a user interacting with the system.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

recording a date indicating when the user interaction was recorded.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

recording a time indicating when the user interaction started.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

recording a time indicating when the user interaction ended.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

recording information associated with the computer readable code'"'"'s present and past storage locations.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

recording one or more names associated with the computer readable code.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

recording identifying information for a project or software application associated with the computer readable code.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

recording the duration of user interaction with computer readable code.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

commenting the computer readable code by interacting with a preference menu;

said preference menu including one or more selectable index information to comment the computer readable code.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

selecting one or more of said selectable index information from the preference menu; and

automatically commenting a line in the computer readable code with the selected index information, if the line is modified.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the index information is included in a specific portion of the line in the computer readable code, said portion reserved for the entry of comments.

19. The method of claim 17, where the index information is preceded by one or more special characters that separate the index information from the executable portion of the line.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of commenting the computer readable code comprises:

selecting one or more lines in the computer readable code;

if one or more of said selectable index information are selected, then commenting said selected one or more lines in the computer readable code with one or more selected index information.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

said preference menu further including a region reserved for entry of comments;

if comments are entered in said region, then commenting said selected one or more lines in the computer readable code with said comments.

22. The method of claim 16, wherein said preference menu further includes a region reserved for entry of comments;

the step of user commenting the computer readable code further comprising;

in response to entering user comments in said region, causing the system to automatically include said user comments in a comment block in computer readable code, said comment block reserved for entry of comments.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

commenting the computer readable code by interacting with a setup menu that is automatically activated when the user opens a code module containing computer readable code, said setup menu comprising data entry regions available to a user for entry of comments.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein the point of focus is a line.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the point of focus is a word.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein the point of focus is a character.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein the point of focus is a paragraph.

28. In a computing system, a method for monitoring user interaction with computer readable code, said method comprising:

detecting user interaction with computer readable code;

if the user interaction with the computer readable code results in a recordable user action or event, recording one or more entries in a transaction log;

an entry in the transaction log comprising;

if the user interaction relates to a point of focus;

position of the point of focus in the computer readable code;

change in the content of the point of focus;

if the point of focus changes as the result of said user interaction; and

an attribute describing the relationship between the user interaction and the point of focus;

name of code module containing the computer readable code;

date when the user interaction occurred;

time when the user interaction occurred;

description of the user interaction; and

an indicator of the editing context in which the user action or event occurred.

29. The method of claim 28 further comprising:

commenting the computer readable code by interacting with a preference menu;

said preference menu including one or more selectable index information;

said index information comprising;

user comments;

name of code module containing the computer readable code

name of the project associated with the code module;

date of entry of comment;

time of entry of comment; and

an identifying term describing the context in which the comment is entered.

30. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

causing the system to automatically color one or more terms in the computer readable code based on type of information said one or more terms are associated with.

31. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

causing the system to automatically color one or more entries in the transaction log based on one or more terms included in that entry.

32. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

aggregating said one or more recorded entries in the transaction log;

generating a report based on the information included in said one or more entries.

33. A computer program product comprising:

a computer usable medium having executable program code embodied therein configured to monitor user interaction with computer readable code, said computer program product comprising;

executable program code configured to cause a system to determine a point of focus in a position in a line of code in computer readable code;

executable program code configured to cause the system to record information about one or more modifications to the line of code in a transaction log when the point of focus shifts to a different position.

34. The computer program product of claim 33, wherein the executable program code is further configured to cause the system to further record information about whether a modification in a line of code is made for the purpose of maintaining the code.

35. The computer program product of claim 33, wherein the executable program code is further configured to cause the system to further record information about whether a modification in a line of code is made for the purpose of further developing the code.

36. A method for tracking user interaction with a computing system, said method comprising:

monitoring user interaction with a computing system;

if the user interaction results in a recordable user action, then recording information about the type of the user action in a transaction log as a record;

if the user interaction results in a recordable event, then recording information about the type of the event in a transaction log as a record;

organizing and displaying one or more records in the transaction log in a form comprehensible by a human operator;

wherein each record in the transaction log includes in addition to information about the type of the user action or event, time of recordation, and identity of the user interacting with the computing system.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the computing system includes a display screen and a user interaction is detected based on a change in one or more points on the display screen, wherein said one or more points are associated with a recordable user action or event.