Software building support system

• US 6,966,050 B2
• Filed: 01/31/2002
• Issued: 11/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Watase, Shinichiro, Nomura, Keisuke, Kanaji, Katsuyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhen, Wei Y.
• Application Number:
  US10/059,254
• Publication Number:
  US 20040015838A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,384 Days
• Field of Search: 717/109, 717/107, 717/108, 715/500
• US Class Current: 717/109
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/20 Software design
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming

Abstract

A software building support system capable of efficiently building, managing and reusing a software program. The software building support system includes a program design part for supporting the design of a composite program and for outputting the results thereof as a program structure information. The program design part includes a component line-connection part for defining the structure of the composite program on the basis of instructions obtained by a graphical interface, and a composite component setting part for setting a plurality of software components as a single composite component. The composite component setting part includes a terminal setting part for setting a terminal of the composite component, which is used for allowing the composite component to communicate with another external component, and an attribute setting part for setting an inherent property of the composite component.

Claims

1. A software building support system of building a software program by connecting a plurality of software components, said system comprising:

an interface configured to receive an instruction from a user, said interface adapted to display a plurality of software components as icons on a tool screen and receive an operation for the icons as an instruction from the user; and

a composite component setting part configured to set a specific group of software components, which are associated with each other, as a single composite component, on the basis of the instruction obtained by said interface, said composite component setting part including;

a terminal setting part configured to set a terminal of the composite component, said terminal configured to allow the composite component to communicate with another external component; and

an attribute setting part for setting an inherent property of the composite component,

wherein the tool screen displayed by the interface part including a pallet area used for presenting a plurality of icons corresponding to respective software components to be combined, and an editing area used for combining a plurality of the icons corresponding to the respective software components, and the composite component set by the composite component setting part is registered as an icon corresponding to a new software component in the pallet area of the tool screen.

2. A software building support method of building a software program by connecting a plurality of software components, said method being realized by steps operated on a computer system, said method comprising:

displaying a tool screen including a pallet area used for presenting a plurality of icons corresponding to respective software components to be combined, and an editing area used for combining a plurality of the icons corresponding to the respective software components;

identifying a specific group of software components, which are associated with each other, on the basis of an operation for the icons displayed in the pallet area and the editing area of the tool screen received as an instruction from a user;

setting said specific group of software components as a single composite component on the basis of an operation for the icons displayed in the editing area of the tool screen, received as an instruction from the user;

setting a terminal of the composite component, which is used for allowing the composite component to communicate with another external component, on the basis of an operation for the icons displayed in the editing area of the tool screen, received as an instruction from the user;

setting an inherent property of the composite component on the basis of an operation for the icons displayed in the editing area of the tool screen received as an instruction from the user; and

registering the composite component, whose terminal and inherent property has been set, as an icon corresponding to a new software component in the pallet area of the tool screen.

3. A computer readable recording medium having stored thereon a composite component comprising a combination of a plurality of software components configured to be executed by a computer, said composite component being built by the method set forth in claim 2.

4. A computer readable recording medium having stored a software building support program of building a software program by connecting a plurality of software components, said program causing a computer to execute the procedures of:

displaying a tool screen including a pallet area used for presenting a plurality of icons corresponding to respective software components to be combined, and an editing area used for combining a plurality of the icons corresponding to the respective software components;

identifying a specific group of software components, which are associated with each other, on the basis of an operation for the icons displayed in the pallet area and the editing area of the tool screen received as an instruction from a user;

setting said specific group of software components as a single composite component on the basis of an operation for the icons displayed in the editing area of the tool screen received as an instruction from the user;

setting a terminal of the composite component, which is used for allowing the composite component to communicate with another external component, on the basis of an operation for the icons displayed in the editing area of the tool screen, received as an instruction from the user;

setting an inherent property of the composite component, on the basis of an operation for the icons displayed in the editing area of the tool screen, received as an instruction from the user;

registering the composite component, whose terminal and inherent property has been set, as an icon corresponding to a new software component in the pallet area of the tool screen.